MANILA – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Tuesday assured the public that it remains committed to upholding integrity and professionalism in the organization.
The central bank issued the statement following recent reports that four employees in the offices of two Monetary Board (MB) members received salaries despite not reporting to work.
"In October 2023, the Office of the General Counsel triggered an investigation after receiving credible information that several staffers in the offices of two MB members had not been reporting for work for extended periods of time but were nonetheless receiving their salaries," the BSP said.
"The irregularities appear unprecedented in an organization that upholds integrity and professionalism at all levels. The BSP remains committed to upholding that," it added.
According to the BSP, the Office of the General Counsel received an initial report of the investigation and instructed the investigating team to proceed with an in-depth probe in December.
In January, the investigating team submitted the final investigation report, where four employees and their two immediate supervisors were identified. The Office of the General Counsel signed the report.
The BSP said that from late February to early March, four of the employees and one direct supervisor implicated in the report tendered their resignation.
Administrative disciplinary cases were also filed in March before effectivity of their separation.
"As BSP has stated since the first media reports on the issue on May 10, because the administrative disciplinary proceedings are ongoing, further information about them may be confidential," the central bank said.
The BSP assured that the Monetary Board has functioned as normal.
"In response to speculation that vacancies may occur that would affect the board’s operations, the 7-member board can continue to perform most of its duties provided there is a 4-member quorum and the rest of its duties such as granting emergency loans, with 5 members. We are constrained from commenting further on the Monetary Board members because they are presidential appointees," the BSP said. (PNA)
