Official statement on cases filed by Mr. Jose Marie L. Sy against BPI
MAKATI CITY, Philippines — Mr. Jose Marie L. Sy, as public and court records show, had a delinquent housing loan and defaulted credit card obligations with the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI). Upon his default in his obligations with the Bank, BPI foreclosed against the Real Estate Mortgage he executed to secure his loan and filed a Sum of Money case for his credit card obligations.
Mr. Sy then filed several cases against BPI:
1. Administrative Case filed before the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) On January 1, 2013, Mr. Sy filed a complaint before the BSP in Bacolod City which did not prosper. No basis was found by BSP to hold any officer of the Bank for any administrative liability.
2. Civil case filed before the Bacolod City RTC On June 10, 2014, Mr. Sy filed a civil case for damages against BPI before the RTC of Bacolod City for substantially the same grounds of his complaint before the BSP in 2013.
This case is currently pending. We cannot give any detail on this case under the rule on sub judice. What we can say is the allegations in the case are repetitions of the BSP complaint and of similar nature and kind.
3. Criminal case against 3 BPI employees Notwithstanding his filing of the civil and administrative cases against BPI, Mr. Sy filed a criminal complaint against three (3) bank officials for Qualified Theft through Falsification of Commercial Documents before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Bacolod City. The complaint was dismissed by the Bacolod City Prosecutor FOR LACK OF PROBABLE CAUSE.
In other words, his claim has no factual and legal basis. Mr. Sy has not appealed the dismissal of the complaint.
The statements of Mr. Sy necessarily invite scrutiny as to the details of his account. In the interest of full transparency, and consistent with Mr. Sy’s apparent intention to have the details of his transactions explained, it will be in his interest and that of the general public, that he allow the disclosure of the pertinent details of his transactions. Thus, if Mr. Sy is willing to execute a written and sworn consent waiving the confidentiality of his accounts under the Bank Secrecy Law, General Banking Act, Data Privacy Act and other primal laws, BPI will be given the fair opportunity to show where Mr. Sy’s money went, and how his allegations are completely false.
On June 10, 2014, Mr. Sy held a press conference in Bacolod City, where he claimed he “lost large amounts of money in BPI.” An evaluation of his allegations during the press conference, including his claim that he lost millions from his BPI accounts shows that, as proven by the DISMISSED cases, there is no basis to these claims, and the Bank can answer all the allegations of Mr. Sy with documentary proof as long as he waives his rights as stated above. His failure or refusal to do so would only further evince that his allegations are utterly false.
The above information shows that the allegations currently brought to media, as reported in today’s issue of The Philippine Star, have no basis in fact. BPI reserves its right to institute and exhaust all appropriate legal action to protect itself against libelous and malicious statements.
