P138-M withdrawal from PCIB under Mrs. Marcos kin raises question

Government has never really been in control, the Marcoses and their cronies always did. Case in point: the withdrawal of P138 million from the Trust Banking Group of Equitable PCI Bank while Martin Romualdez was still board chairman. Despite more than 500 cases now pending at the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan and the Office of the Ombudsman against the Marcos family and its cronies, their ill-gotten wealth remains intact. Worse for the people, they still have access to it. An internal memorandum made available recently to NEWSBREAK shows that in October 2005, when Martin was board chairman (he no longer holds the post), about P138 million (P137, 789, 161.15) was withdrawn by TMEE from the Trust Banking Group of Equitable PCI Bank. This sum represents accumulated cash dividends and profit sharing for TMEE’s shares from 1991 to 1995. On May 23 the stockholders of the Philippine Commercial and International (PCI) Bank will hold their annual meeting. Questions are being raised over the release of such funds. While the Sandiganbayan has indeed ruled that the Romualdezes could exercise their right to vote, the final ownership of the shares has yet to be fully determined.-NEWSBREAK Please see full story