Gov’t bank exec gets 6 years for graft, must refund P39M

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A FORMER vice president of a government-owned bank has earned a six-year vacation in the slammer after she was convicted by the Sandiganbayan of paying excessive interests on the deposits of two clients totaling P39.05 million over four years.

In its 25-page decision issued last January 20, the anti-graft court’s Third Division found defendant Rosemarie Villamora, former Philippine Postal Savings Bank vice president, South Luzon Area Head, and Naga City branch head, guilty of giving unwarranted preference to two depositors, causing undue injury to the government.

She was sentenced to six to eight years imprisonment and ordered to indemnify the government in the sum of P39.05 million. The court also imposed perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

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The decision was penned by Associate Justice Arthur O. Malabaguio, with the concurrence of Associate Justices Oscar C. Herrera Jr. and Edgardo M. Caldona.

During trial, the prosecution presented a notarized sworn statement dated October 25, 2017 signed by the accused wherein she admitted that she offered depositors Noel Antonio and Daughters of Mary three percent monthly interest if they agreed to put their money on a Premium Savings Plan.

Auditors said the depositor’s money raked in yearly interests ranging between 24 to 30 percent at a time when the bank was offering a regular interest rate of only 0.25 percent per year.

As of April 20, 2017, the PPSB records showed the starting deposits amounting to P198.444 million have ballooned to P237.494 million on interest earnings totaling P39,050,000.

She likewise admitted that she deliberately tried to conceal the interest payout by tampering with the PPSB Naga branch’s core deposit system and ignoring notices from internal auditors asking her to explain the discrepancy in the bank’s balance.

However, when she testified in her own defense, Villamora disowned the sworn statement, saying she was coerced into signing it and claiming the admissions in it were already prepared beforehand.

The court was unconvinced with her protestations, noting that it is not worthy of belief that someone in her position and with her background could be cowed or pressured into signing an incriminating document.

The Sandiganbayan noted that the accused reached her post as vice president of the bank owing to her “vast experience in banking operations.”

“She has also a master’s degree in Business Management. Having such kind of track record, the accused cannot be said to have been easily influenced, cowed, pressured, or intimidated into doing something against her will. Considering that the sworn statement is a notarized document, it is presumed valid, regular, and genuine,” it added.

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