The Regional Trial Court (RTC) and the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) of Bayawan City, Negros Oriental convicted three former officers of now closed Rural Bank of Basay (Negros Oriental) Inc., the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a statement.
Convicted were the bank’s former President/Manager Amorsolo L. Jordan, former cashier Herelyn B. Gaga-a, and former loan collector Rene R. Silorio guilty of the criminal charges filed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2019.
The regulator sued the former officers of the closed rural bank for violating Republic Act 8791 (The General Banking Law of 2000) and the Revised Penal Code (RPC).
The criminal cases arose from the participation of accused Jordan, Gaga-a, and Silorio in the processing, approval, and grant by RB Basay of several loans to its directors, officers, stockholders and related interests (DOSRI) totaling P393,500 and one fictitious loan amounting to P521,000.
The BSP discovered the fraudulent loans during an investigation of the bank’s loan transactions after its closure.
In its decision dated March 30, 2021, RTC-Bayawan found both Jordan and Gaga-a guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violation of RA No. 8791 and sentenced them to imprisonment of two to six years for each of the nine counts.
Separately, MTCC-Bayawan found both Jordan and Gaga-a guilty of Falsification of Commercial/Public Documents under the RPC in a decision dated March 30, 2022 and sentenced them to imprisonment of four months to one year and one day and to pay a fine of P1,000.
Moreover, in another decision of even date, the same court found both Jordan and Silorio guilty of Falsification of Private Documents by Private Individuals under the RPC.
Jordan was sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of four months and one day to one year and one day, and to pay a fine of P1,000. Silorio was sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of four months and to pay a fine of P1,000.
The BSP is committed to fostering financial stability and protecting public interest through the implementation of good governance practices and compliance with existing laws among its supervised financial institutions.
