JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday ordered a panel of prosecutors to waive the payment of docket fees and pave the way for the early resolution of the syndicated estafa cases filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other individuals against the officers and agents of Performance Investment Products Corp. (PIPC).

Gonzalez issued the order after several complainants in the NBI case trooped to his office to protest the delay in the resolution of their respective cases.

The victims, represented by lawyer Rodolfo Reyes, specifically cited newspaper reports saying the Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended the filing of estafa charges against Miachael H.K. Liew, PIPC president and chairman; Cristina Gonzalez Tuason, PIPC general manager; and Manuel Gonzalez, PIPC corporate secretary and incorporator.

The charges were recommended based on the several complaints filed by El Paraiso Farms Inc. and a certain Jose E. Picorneli, a Spanish citizen residing in the country.

Reyes said the complainants in the NBI case were concerned because their case has been pending since August of last year and the DOJ has yet to come up with a resolution.

Senior State Prosecutor Philip Kimpo, who was present during the meeting, told the victims the delay in the resolution of their case was due to unpaid deficiency in the docket fees.

Kimpo said the panel is ready to release the resolution, but the docket fees have to be paid in full.

The victims argued they have paid the required docket fees amounting to more than P100,000 based on the computation of the docket-fee personnel.

Gonzalez told the victims he would waive the docket fees until the lower court has come up with a final ruling on their case.

“There is a deficiency, the docket section has computed the fees as sufficient but the prosecutors have another computation but even with the deficiency I would waive it now subject to the lien of this department,” Gonzalez told reporters.

MANILA is set to draw $47 million, or P2 billion, worth of loans from a number of overseas governments and has obtained regulatory approval to draw $10 million or P455 million from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

BSP wants awareness on mobile banking raised

THE country’s two telecommunications service providers have done much to improve the awareness of mobile banking among Filipinos, but more needs to be done, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

LandBank to buy P50M of notes from Isabela bank

LAND BANK of the Philippines has signed an agreement with First Isabela Cooperative Bank (Fico Bank) to buy P50 million worth of unsecured subordinated notes to beef up the rural lender’s capital base under the Basel 2 standards, the bank said yesterday.

JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday ordered a panel of prosecutors to waive the payment of docket fees and pave the way for the early resolution of the syndicated estafa cases filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other individuals against the officers and agents of Performance Investment Products Corp. (PIPC).

THE peso yesterday shed four centavos to close at P44.59 per dollar from Tuesday’s close of P44.55.

The range-bound trading reflected how investors were cautious ahead of the policy decision by the US Federal Reserve on interest rates, currency traders said.