BW FILE PHOTO

TWO central bank supervisors have been formally dismissed from service over their alleged involvement in the falsified attendance records of four employees, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.

The BSP said the Monetary Board arrived at the decision on Aug. 20 following a recent deliberation and its legal department’s investigation since November 2023.

“The penalties include formal dismissal from service,” the BSP said in a statement on Tuesday. “While they have been previously separated from service, the formal dismissal includes forfeiture of retirement benefits, cancellation of civil service eligibility, perpetual disqualification from holding public office and a bar from taking civil service exams.”

The two supervisors filed their resignations at the Office of the President (OP) in June 2024. The OP, who appointed them, addressed their exit on July 15 this year.

In July 2024, the central bank fired and banned the four concerned BSP employees from holding any public office. Their retirement benefits were likewise forfeited.

The BSP said it implemented reforms to prevent any similar cases of misconduct.

Among the reforms were improved supervisor training and briefing of new employees, stricter enforcement of its code of ethics, administrative action and incident escalation, and better “whistleblower mechanism.”

The previous head of the BSP Committee on Ethics and Decorum, who was a director, was replaced by a deputy governor.

The central bank now also requires its employees to submit timesheets and supervisors’ approvals online as part of its revamped human resource system.

It added that it is conducting a review of the Monetary Board’s organizational structure and management, where it is eyeing stricter supervision by the Office of the Secretary of the Monetary Board. — Katherine K. Chan