Nunez, Pnoy's Torquemada?

The Pnoy administration may be giving the wrong signals by zealously pursuing a probe that may not even be worth anyone's time. It is okay to go after wrongdoers in the previous administration but the effort should be more judicious lest it begins to smell of being a witch hunt. Nunez and the new DBP board are too eager in pursuing any semblance of anomalous deals by the previous DBP board. The DBP was handed over to them in the best of shape, earning P1.3 billion from the Bobby Ongpin deal which contributed to P6 billion in total profits. What GOCC can boast of that kind of earnings? Other GOCCs turn out losses year after year and have been a drain to the country's coffers. 

Past DBP management, Rey David in particular, had displayed a keen financial management savvy and skirted the DBP charter limits in pursuit of profitable deals that they took on with a masterful scouting of an opportunity for the bank’s benefit. It could have been a case of shrewd dealing, deftly traipsing at the edges of what is allowed by the rules to gain profits for the bank. Far cry from the typical GOCC heads who either stole or just sat out their tenures on their plump asses eating off the fat of the land. That Rey David benefited personally from the deal is mere speculation. What is fact is he did well as fiduciary leading to pecuniary gains for the government.

The new management of DBP should ease off. Perhaps they are trying too hard to ingratiate themselves to Pnoy by ordering show causes against the employees of the past board to have a show case to present to the boss. This has shades of quota completion of arrests that is typical at lower levels of law enforcement. It is causing much discomfort among DBP employees and may lead to more anxieties due to the oppressive probe tactics applied these modern day Torquemadas. The family of Atty. Benjamin Pinpin suggests that harsh pressure on the lawyer have been applied by the inquisitors enough to drive him to commit suicide. A statement from the dying is difficult to ignore and holds much weight in legal considerations.

No matter how hard Nunez tries to discredit the former management of DBP their accomplishments will always be the bench mark by which the new management’s efforts will be judged and it's a tough act to follow. Perhaps the new DBP board anticipates that they won't be able to match such an excellent performance by the past board. They felt a need to demolish the standard that has been set by ascribing misdeeds no matter how ludicrous.