Ex-Budget Chief Linked to Graft Scandal Appointed Head of Islamic Bank

Malacañang has defended the appointment of former Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman as the chair and CEO of the state-owned Al-Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines (AAIIBP), stating that she remains innocent of her alleged involvement in the massive corruption scandal exposed last year. “There is nothing wrong with appointing someone whom the President believes can do the job well,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said on Monday. According to Castro, Pangandaman’s return to government does not mean that Marcos has already absolved her of any possible cases that may be filed against her. “The issue of alleged anomalies in the flood control projects is a separate matter. If there is evidence against former Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, then the President remains open to any kind of investigation,” she said. Pangandaman resigned as chief of the Department of Budget and Management, along with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, in November last year, after their names were mentioned in the flood control scandal. She was identified by resigned congressman Zaldy Co, as former House appropriations committee chair, to be among those who relayed to him the order of President Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez to include P100-billion worth of graft-tainted “insertions” for public works in the 2025 national budget. Co also claimed that some time in 2024, he met with Pangandaman, former Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) Undersecretary Adrian Carlos Bersamin and Romualdez at the Aguado Building in front of Malacañang’s Gate 4. There, Bersamin gave Co the list of the projects to be inserted. According to Co, the list “came directly from PBBM and he took it from a brown leather bag” that he recognized to be Mr. Marcos’ from the 2022 elections. Pangandaman had denied these allegations. “As of now, we do not see any case being faced by former Secretary Amenah Pangandaman. If there are grounds to file a case and have evidence, then authorities are free to do so,” Castro said. Asked if Pangandaman is among the personalities ordered to be investigated by Marcos, Malacañang deferred to other agencies. “The president is not the one who conducts investigations. That responsibility was given to the ICI (Independent Commission for Infrastructure), and now to the Office Ombudsman and the Department of Justice. The investigating bodies are free to investigate anyone who may have been involved,” Castro said. AAIIBP announced Pangandaman’s appointment on July 10, as the country’s only Islamic bank seeks to expand financial inclusion among Muslims and strengthen Islamic banking nationwide. “Her appointment marks the beginning of a new chapter as AAlIBP continues to strengthen Islamic banking, promote financial inclusion, and drive sustainable development across the Philippines,” AAIIBP said of Pangandaman. Pangandaman replaced Amilbahar Amilasan Jr., who was appointed in 2024. He continues to serve as a member of AAIIB’s board of directors. It was during Pangandaman’s tenure in the DBM that major reforms in budget and procurement systems were implemented, including the New Government Procurement Act; to the institutionalization of the Philippine Open Government Partnership; the passage of the Government Optimization Act; the modernization of Public Financial Management systems through digital innovations such as the Budget and Treasury Management System, blockchain-enabled budget tracking; and the revival of Project Dime (Digital Information for Monitoring and Evaluation). Prior to her appointment as DBM chief, she served as the agency’s assistant secretary (2016 to 2018) and later as undersecretary (2018 to 2019) under then-Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno. When Diokno was assigned to head the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Pangandaman also served as technical advisor before being promoted to assistant governor. /cb