By Butch Fernandez
Sen. Sergio R. Osmeña III is questioning Malacañang’s issuance of Executive Order (EO) 198, approving the proposed merger of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) dated February 4, a day after Congress went on recess, prompting suspicion it was intended to present lawmakers with a “done deal” when they reconvene in May.
“That is the 64-dollar question,” Osmeña told the BusinessMirror when asked if the LandBank-DBP merger can be done without congressional fiat, considering that these two state banks have very different charters.
While Osmeña, at the outset, conceded President Aquino’s authority to reorganize the bureaucracy, the Senator raised issue with the timing of the EO being issued by Malacañang soon after the Senate and the House of Representatives adjourned sessions until May 23.
“Congress has long given the President the power to reorganize,” the senator said. “But two banks with congressional charters and specific tasks?”
Osmeña protested that Palace officials, apparently held back signing of EO 198 until Senate President Franklin M. Drilon and Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte Jr. formally adjourned sessions on February 3.
“They waited till Congress adjourned so it would be a fait accompli by the time we reconvene in May,” Osmeña said. He lamented the latest Palace ploy is likely to revive criticisms against “imperious” tendencies of Malacañang officials.
“Talk about Imperial Manila,” Osmeña groused. “And the Imperial Presidency.”
In an e-mail to the BusinessMirror, the Palace maintained that the LandBank-DBP merger was “necessary as the functions or purposes of both banks duplicate and/or unnecessarily overlap with one another, which is one of the standards for implementing a merger under Republic Act 10149.”
It added that the consolidated entity “will be more effective, efficient and sustainable in carrying out the mandates of both banks, particularly in anticipation of the wave of foreign banks that may enter the Philippine market upon the occurrence of Asean integration in 2015.”
The Palace briefer also cited “overlapping functions” of the two state-owned banks “in terms of their mandate, clientele and services/products.”