Amid the House hearings on Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment case, old statements from the Bank of the Philippine Islands and its president Jose Teodoro Limcaoco have resurfaced online. These need context.
Since April 30, netizens have been sharing a quote card featuring a photo of Limcaoco – who was then managing director and chief financial officer of Ayala Corporation, which owns BPI – and the following statements:
“Our internal investigation REVEALS that there has been no such breach.”
“I don’t know where Sen. Trillanes got his information, but the graphic posted by the [Philippine Daily] Inquirer showing alleged credits, THAT IS NOT A BPI DOCUMENT.”
“The deposit slip shown by Mar or the Inquirer is not a unique thing. All banks will show the name of the depositor on a deposit slip.”
“We are committed to protecting client information and preserving the trust bestowed on us by our clients all these years.”
The quote card was originally published on April 29, 2016 on Facebook by an advertising agency. [Archived copy here.]
The featured quotes were pulled from a Rappler article published that day, quoting not just Limcaoco but also statements issued by BPI. Moreover, these were not remarks made recently in light of the ongoing impeachment cases against the vice president.
Backstory
On April 27, 2016, the Philippine Daily Inquirer published a revelation by then senator Antonio Trillanes IV alleging that then Davao City Mayor and presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte had at least P211 million in a BPI bank account that he did not declare in his 2014 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth. He supposedly owns the account jointly with his daughter Sara.
The Rappler article titled “BPI speaks up on Duterte controversy” was published two days after the revelation. In it, Rappler quoted the following from a statement BPI sent to the media amid allegations of a breach of client confidentiality:
- “Our internal investigation reveals that there has been no such breach.”
- “We are committed to protecting client information and preserving the trust bestowed on us by our clients all these years.”
Rappler also obtained the following remarks over text from Limcaoco, who was a former president of BPI Family Savings Bank:
- “I don’t know where Sen. Trillanes got his information, but the graphic posted by the Inquirer showing alleged credits, that is not a BPI document.”
- “The deposit slip shown by Mar or the Inquirer is not a unique thing. All banks will show the name of the depositor on a deposit slip.”
The Trillanes document shared with the media, including VERA Files, showed account number 002433-0695-39 at BPI Julia Vargas branch in Pasig City under the name of Rodrigo Roa Duterte jointly with Sarah Z. Duterte. It also included a table showing 10 deposits, including eight deposits amounting to P193 million made on the elder Duterte’s birthday on March 28, 2014.
VERA Files has debunked other mis- and disinformation related to banks supposedly testifying during the House hearings on the vice president’s impeachment case.
At least ten posts carrying the old graphic uploaded by FB users and pages have collectively garnered 42,277 reactions; 7,416 comments; and 8,204 shares.
