LandBank Employee Defends Bank in Open Letter to Kiko Pangilinan
OPEN LETTER – An exchange between Senator Kiko Pangilinan and a LandBank employee has drawn attention to the role of banks in government corruption scandals. The question now is whether banks should be blamed, or if the real problem lies in the broken system that enables these abuses.
In a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on September 25, 2025, Senator Pangilinan questioned why the LandBank Malolos Highway branch released ₱457 million in cash within just two days to SYSM Construction, a company linked to questionable flood control projects. He asked if it was normal for a bank to release such a huge amount in cash, and why it was not flagged as suspicious.
Branch head Ma. Lilibeth Lim explained that since the money came from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for government projects, she saw no reason to doubt or question the release.
A few days later, LandBank employee Bernadette Zamora wrote an open letter to the senator on Facebook. She said she was hurt by what she called repeated criticisms of LandBank. As a banker and taxpayer, she emphasized that employees are also victims of corruption and should not be blamed. She explained that LandBank only follows the law and has no authority to question government funds. Instead of putting blame on the bank, she urged Pangilinan to push for reforms in the system and to focus on catching the “big fish” behind the corruption.
Senator Pangilinan responded by thanking her for speaking up. He agreed that the system must be fixed but stressed that banks are also part of that system. He emphasized that releasing nearly half a billion pesos in cash within 48 hours is highly unusual and deserves further investigation. He clarified that he was not blaming LandBank alone but was seeking the truth behind what could be one of the biggest corruption scandals in Philippine history.
