The Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) on Saturday said it welcomes the National Bureau of Investigation probe into the alleged phishing scam that victimized teachers and said it will fully cooperate with the agency.
“The Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) is welcoming the impending investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the alleged phishing schemes victimizing teachers, following a Department Order issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the NBI to immediately intervene on the matter,” the company said in a statement.
“We will actively participate in this investigation and extend full cooperation to the NBI with the end in mind of further securing our depositors’ hard-earned money,” LandBank president and CEO Cecilia Borromeo said.
Borromeo added the bank is also conducting its own investigation and is coordinating with the Department of Education for the list of teachers reportedly victimized in the alleged scam.
“We are also reaching out to the affected teachers and conducting an internal investigation on their complaints,” she said.
The DOJ has directed the NBI to investigate and build-up a case on the alleged phishing schemes against teachers.
In a department order, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra also authorized Officer-in-Charge Eric Distor to file the appropriate charges against those found responsible if evidence warrants.
Distor was also directed to submit a report on the progress of the subject investigation and case build-up directly to the Office of the
Justice Secretary within 30 days.
This came after the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition said it received a number of reports claiming that teachers lost as much as P121,000 each from their LandBank accounts.
LandBank on Monday denied that its systems were hacked, as it clarified that the supposed unauthorized transactions by two teachers were due to phishing schemes.
Meanwhile, GCash, operated by Globe Fintech Innovations Inc. (Mynt), on Tuesday said it is looking into reports of e-wallets supposedly at the receiving end of stolen money from accounts of teachers with the LandBank.
Borromeo on Saturday assured the public of the security of Landbank’s systems.
“In the meantime, we assure our clients and the general public that LANDBANK’s systems remain stable and secure,” she said.
