Law exists to merge Landbank, DBP – Drilon

MANILA, Philippines — There is already an existing law that empowers President Marcos to direct the merger of the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), former Senate president Franklin Drilon said yesterday.

In a statement, Drilon said Republic Act 10149 or the government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCC) Governance Act, which he authored, authorizes the President to effect the merger without waiting for Congress to file and pass related bills.

He said congressional action on the proposed merger would be a waste of time and resources.

“Congress has already delegated to the President, by virtue of GOCC Governance Act or Republic Act 10149, the power to reform, reorganize and merge GOCCs, including state-owned banks,” Drilon said.

A bill has been filed in the House of Representatives to direct the merger of the country’s two state-owned banks.

Drilon explained that Section 5 (a) of the GOCC law provides that the Governance Council for GOCCs (GCG) has the power to “evaluate the performance and determine the relevance of the GOCC, to ascertain whether such GOCC should be reorganized, merged, streamlined, abolished or privatized.”

Upon determination by the GCG that such action would be in the best interest of the state, it shall implement the reorganization, merger or streamlining of the GOCC, unless otherwise directed by the President, according to the law’s author.

The council may also recommend to the President the abolition or privatization of the GOCC and, upon the approval of the Chief Executive, implement such abolition or privatization, he added, emphasizing the extent of delegated authority that RA 10149 has given to the President, through the GCG.

Ordinarily, Drilon said merger of GOCCs would require the enactment of a law. But through RA 10149, the legislature has delegated to the President the power to merge GOCCs created by law, such as the Landbank and DBP.

“The power is with the President, no longer with Congress,” Drilon added. “The basis of the merger is the fact that the DBP and Landbank are duplicating each other’s functions. The President can implement the merger even if there is no amendment to the charter of these two laws,” he pointed out.

Drilon also cited Section 31 of Executive Order 292, which provides for the continuing authority of the President to reorganize his office.

“The President, subject to the policy in the Executive Office and in order to achieve simplicity, economy and efficiency, shall have continuing authority to reorganize the administrative structure of the Office of the President,” the EO stated.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno last month said Marcos has agreed to the merger of the DBP and Landbank to create one strong state bank to help the country weather the global economic downturn. –Sheila Crisostomo