MANILA—Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan expressed concern over the Land Bank of the Philippines’ recent statement denying irregularities in its handling of accounts tied to contractors of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood-control projects.

“Bilang taxpayer at bilang pasweldo ng taumbayan, medyo nakakaasiwa at nakakabahala ang statement na nilabas ng LandBank kahapon ‘strongly refut[ing] insinuations’ sa paghandle nito ng government contractor accounts ng DPWH flood-control projects,” Pangilinan said in his manifestation.

He cited reports that nearly P457 million in cash was withdrawn by contractors over two days directly from LandBank.

“Kung tama ang naging statement ng LandBank na wala silang ginawang mali, sumunod sila ‘faithfully’ at ‘strictly’ sa lahat ng existing Philippine banking laws and regulations—ang tanong: ibig sabihin ba, dahil walang mali sa paglabas ng 457 million pesos cash sa dalawang araw ay mauulit ito? Pwedeng gawin ulit dahil sumunod sila ‘faithfully’ and ‘strictly’ sa lahat ng banking laws and regulations. We beg to disagree,” Pangilinan said.

The senator said LandBank should have assured the public that safeguards would be put in place to prevent similar transactions in the future.

“Dapat sana sinabi nila sa kanilang statement, ‘maghahanap kami ng paraan para hindi na mangyari ulit ito,’” he added.

Pangilinan reminded the bank that the money involved comes from taxpayers. “Pera ito ng gobyerno, ng taumbayan. Pera na kinubra sa kanila o inuutang sa ngalan nila. Pera na dapat napupunta sa pagkain, edukasyon, kalusugan, (at) kabuhayan,” he said.

He urged LandBank to adopt a people-centered approach in handling government funds. “Na ialay ang araw-araw na gawain, ang bawat pisong pumapasok at lumalabas sa government banks sa Pilipino, sa mga kababayan natin,” he said.

Instead of only emphasizing compliance, Pangilinan said the bank should commit to improving its systems. “Mano ba namang magsabi na, ‘We will find ways of doing things better or we will review our protocols to be able to flag possible dubious transactions, etc.’”

He added that LandBank’s expertise and long experience in handling public funds should be used to review laws, particularly those on anti-money laundering.

“Your commitment ‘to the highest standards of integrity, regulatory compliance, and public trust’ demands this. Otherwise yung deklarasyon ay ‘empty’ ika nga,” Pangilinan said.

“It is not enough to not do bad. We must not stand idly by while bad is happening, or while bad is already being exposed to everyone,” he said, appealing to the bank: “Please, please, LandBank, let us do better for our people.”