FORMER Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. was arrested yesterday for allegedly violating banking laws, according to a post he made in his Facebook account.
Mr. Yasay, who also served as Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, posted a photo secretly taken by his wife while he was being processed for mugshots by Manila police.
A Manila trial court ordered his arrest “for criminal charges that were allegedly committed by officials of Banco Filipino from 2003 to 2006,” according to his post. He added that he joined the shuttered bank in 2009.
Mr. Yasay was accused of conspiring with five other officials of the shuttered bank to get an anomalous loan worth P350 million for a company, according to a copy of a police report. They allegedly failed to report the loan to the central bank.
“I am not posting bail until I am brought before the judge where I will question this abuse of process and travesty of justice,” Mr. Yasay said.
Mr. Yasay headed the Securities and Exchange Commission under then President Fidel V. Ramos. He ran for vice president in 2010 and lost.
Mr. Yasay briefly served as President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s top diplomat before lawmakers rejected his appointment in 2017. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas
