Cebu rural bank execs convicted of falsification

MANILA, Philippines — Nineteen officials and employees of a rural bank in Cebu have been convicted for falsifying documents to defraud the financial institution, the Department of Justice said yesterday.

Convicted of 34 counts of falsification of public and commercial documents were officials and employees of the Rural Bank of Subangdaku Inc. (RBSI).

The Mandaue Municipal Trial Court in Cities sentenced the defendants to one to three years in prison.

The court also ordered the defendants to pay a fine of P3,000 each, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency.

The court said the defendants made it appear that certain people obtained loans from the bank, when no one actually applied for a loan.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. after the RBSI declared a bank holiday in 2009.

The depositors tried to withdraw their money, but were denied by the bank due to alleged lack of financial capability.

The court said the defendants failed to prove their innocence and kept denying the charges despite the presentation of overwhelming evidence against them.