8 Quedancor execs charged with graft over P2-M loan

MANILA, Philippines—The Office of the Ombudsman has filed graft charges before the Sandiganbayan against eight officers of the Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor) and four individuals in connection with a questionable P2-million loan.

In its charge sheet, the Office of the Ombudsman said that Quedancor extended a P2-million loan to Luisito Vinuya even though he was not qualified to avail of the loan. The property he used as collateral also had a market value of only P365,120.

Aside from Vinuya and wife Femy, charged with violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act were Quedancor officials Alexander Butic, senior vice president of the loans management cluster; Divino Duban, regional assistant vice president; Ray Joven, operations officer; Analyn Hobayan, accountant; Joel Gagelonia, operations officer; Rhona Anover, regional unit head of the credit assessment group; Rudolph Zoleta, regional head of the collection and remedial management group; and Carino Caneza, operations officer.

Also charged were spouses Marcos Reyes and Adela Gutierrez.


Unwarranted benefits

A bail of P30,000 was recommended for each of the accused who denied any wrongdoing.

According to the Office of the Ombudsman, the accused had conspired to approve the P2-million loan to Vinuya despite his lack of qualifications or collateral, “thereby giving unwarranted benefits, advantage and preference to [him] to the damage and prejudice of the government.”

It was also found that the property that Vinuya used as collateral belongs to Reyes and Gutierrez, who had just empowered Vinuya to mortgage the property.

The fact that the property being mortgaged did not belong to Vinuya, even though the loan was in his name, should have stopped the approval of the loan application, the Ombudsman said.

There was also a big discrepancy in the valuation of the property, and this should have a triggered a deeper look at Vinuya’s application, the Office of its Ombudsman said in its resolution recommending the filing of charges. (report from Leila B. Salaverria/Philippine Daily Inquirer)