The Binondo Central Bank (BCB) was a Filipino government

dual exchange rate In economics, a dual exchange rate is the occurrence of two different values of a currency for different sets of monetary transactions. One of the most common types consists of a government setting one exchange rate for specific transactions invol ...

system that operated between 1983 and 1986. It was established to allow the government to narrow the rate gap by directly intervening in black market currency prices. The government of the Philippines organized the BCB under then Trade Secretary Roberto Ongpin, with a mandate to close the gap between the

US dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...

vs the

Philippine Peso The Philippine peso, also referred to by its Tagalog name ''piso'' (Philippine English: , , plural pesos; tl, piso ; sign: ₱; code: PHP), is the official currency of the Philippines. It is subdivided into 100 ''sentimo'', also called ...

's official guiding rate and the black market rate. Ongpin was later charged with illegally acquiring Philippine pesos through the BCB but this case was dismissed in 2016.

History

The BCB was established in November 1983 at the time when the country is experiencing a debt crisis following the

assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., a former Philippine senator, was assassinated on Sunday, August 21, 1983, on the tarmac of Manila International Airport (now named Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor). A longtime political opponent of Pr ...

Financial institutions and banks were experiencing scarce foreign reserves at that particular period. It was organized by the Ferdinand Marcos government led by then Philippine Minister of Trade and Industry Roberto V. Ongpin with collaboration with other Filipino-Chinese businessmen. Following the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...

, the organization was made defunct on February 26, 1986.

Forfeiture case

Ongpin was charged by the

Presidential Commission on Good Government The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) is a quasi-judicial government agency of the Philippines whose primary mandate is to recover the ill-gotten wealth accumulated by Ferdinand Marcos, his immediate family, relatives, subordin ...

in July 1987 with illegally acquiring through the BCB. The prosecutors also asked the

Sandiganbayan The Sandiganbayan ( en, Support of the Nation) is a special appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public office ...

to order Ongpin for the money's return as well as charge him additional in moral damages and in exemplary damages. The other named defendants of the case were

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictato ...

Fabian Ver Fabian Crisologo Ver (born Fabian Maria Trinidad Juan Cirilo Crisologo y Ver; 20 January 1920 – 21 November 1998) was a Filipino military officer who served as the Commanding Officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines under President Ferd ...

, as well as five of Ver's children. They were alleged by the government at that time to have used the BCB in buying millions of US dollars for deposit in foreign banks for their own gain. The marking of exhibits was completed in 2001 while Ongpin finished his presentation of evidence in 2007. In April 2009, Ongpin asked the Sandiganbayan to dismiss the case saying that the government has failed to prove that he used the organization for his financial gain or caused " grave and irreparable damage" to the government. He filed a motion for the closure of the forfeiture case' filed against him in December 2009. The case was dismissed in a ruling by Sandiganbayan date January 19, 2016.

References

{{Reflist 1986 disestablishments in the Philippines Economic history of the Philippines Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Philippine companies established in 1983 Banks established in 1983 Banks disestablished in 1986