Caloocan cops make peace with bankers

The Caloocan City police have made peace with members of the banking community who earlier raised a howl of protest over claims by a ranking police official that "99 percent of robberies in the city are aided by bank insiders."

"We apologize to our friends in the banking community for the ruffled feelings and whatever negative impressions our statement caused. It was not our intention to antagonize them or to alienate their valued clients," Caloocan City police Station Intelligence and Investigation Division (SIID) chief Superintendent Dionicio Borromeo said. "Our statement was taken out of context."

Josefina Panganiban, branch manager of Metrobank-Samson Road and president of the 80-strong Bankers’ Club of Caloocan said the banking community and police should be working together.

"For our part, we do not want to create animosity with anyone, much less our police with whom we have maintained good working relations over the years," she said.

Over the weekend, Panganiban, speaking on behalf of the 80-member bankers’ club, scored Borromeo’s statement, calling it sweeping and disturbing.

"What he said was simply not true. What good can this sweeping statement do to us? This is very unsettling as far as the banking industry is concerned," she complained.

The bank official said she was worried more about the negative repercussions of the revelation.

"Who would believe us now when we are making people believe bank insiders are the ones selling our clients out to the syndicates?," Panganiban said.

Rudy Sia, Metrobank-Grace Park Branch manager, also denounced the claim.

"This is economic sabotage in the making. This will certainly have a negative impact on the banking industry. It is as if we are telling the public not to go to the banks anymore," he said.

Borromeo explained that his statement was simply misinterpreted. He said the "99 percent" referred to the number of times bank insiders were involved in robberies and not the number of bank officials or employees who may be in cahoots with the crime syndicates.

He pointed out, however, that some bank officials really refuse to cooperate with the police, particularly in the immediate resolution of the case.

"Just recently, we heard a bank security official categorically ordering a lone bank guard after a robbing incident not to cooperate with us," Borromeo complained.

The police official said he was standing pat on his claims that the security arrangements of some banks leave something to be desired.