Venancio Concepción

Venancio Concepción
Unknown photo of Concepcion at Philippine National Bank
President of the Philippine National Bank
In office April 10, 1919 – May 7, 1920
Governor‑General	Francis Burton Harrison
Preceded by	Henry Parker Willis
Chief of General Staff of the Philippine Republican Army
In office January 21, 1899 – June 6, 1899
President	Emilio Aguinaldo
Preceded by	Ambrosio Flores
Succeeded by	Philippine Republican Army defeated
Member of the Malolos Congress from Iloilo
In office September 18, 1898 – November 13, 1899 Serving with Esteban de la Rama, Melecio Figueroa, and Tiburcio Hilario
Personal details
Born	Venancio Concepción y Ochoa (1861-05-18)May 18, 1861[1] Alaminos, Pangasinan, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Died	December 13, 1950(1950-12-13) (aged 89)[2] Manila, Philippines
Occupation	Banker Public servant Soldier Lawmaker
Profession	Accountant
Military service
Allegiance	Philippines
Branch/service	Philippine Republican Army
Years of service	1896 – 1899
Rank	Heneral de Division

Venancio Concepción y Ochoa (May 18, 1861 – December 13, 1950) was a Filipino general under the leadership of President Emilio Aguinaldo. He fought battles in Iloilo. He represented Iloilo in Malolos Congress.[3]

He was appointed as Chief of General Staff of the Republican Army and he saw action Central Luzon. However, President Aguinaldo, just hours after Antonio Luna's death on June 5, 1899, immobilized the remaining of Luna's officers and men from the field, including General Concepción, whose headquarters in Angeles, Pampanga Aguinaldo launched an inspection of firearms the same day Luna was murdered.[4]

As a bank president

See also: 1919–1922 Philippine financial crisis

Title page of Venancio Concepcion's La Tragedia del Banco Nacional Filipino, published 1927

During the American period, in 1918, he was appointed as the first Filipino president of the Philippine National Bank, the first universal bank in the Philippines, by the American Governor-General of the Philippines Francis Burton Harrison. He succeeded Henry Parker Willis, who was then appointed director of research of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.[5]

Under Concepcion, the bank made loans to real estate speculators and businesses in the sugar, hemp, and coconut oil industries, often based on connections rather than sound financial assessments. This led to concerns about the bank's lending practices. When Archibald Harrison, an American director of the bank, investigated these concerns and discovered irregularities, Concepcion intervened by influencing the Philippine Legislature to cut off funding for the investigation, ultimately leading to Harrison's resignation.[6]

However, in 1920, he was tried and convicted of fraud.[7] In July 1921, he was again arrested for corruption by American authorities.[8] The Wood-Forbes report in 1921 went into detail about his past crimes and his incompetence as bank president.[9] Due to the Wood-Forbes report, his reputation further decline.[9] Shortly after his arrest, Senator Manuel L. Quezon, in a conversation with Army Chief of Staff Frank R. McCoy, that the Philippine National Bank's disaster was "brought about by Osmeña's belief that Concepcion could manage the bank." House Speaker Sergio Osmeña supported Concepcion's candidacy as bank president. Quezon then emphasized that Osmeña was also responsible for the PNB.[8]

References

1. "Venancio Ochoa Concepcion". Geni.com.
2. "Venancio Ochoa Concepcion". Geni.com.
3. "About Venancio Concepcion". February 2016.
4. Jose, Vicencio (1972). The Rise and Fall of Antonio Luna. Solar Pub. Corporation. ISBN 9789711707002.
5. David Hammes. "Locating Federal Reserve Districts and Headquarters Cities". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Archived from the original on 2007-12-19.
6. Brands, H. W. (1992-09-17). Bound to Empire: The United States and the Philippines. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-987932-8.
7. Karnow, Stanley (1989). "Venacio Concepción". In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines. Random House. ISBN 978-0394549750., page 444.
8. Nagano, Yoshiko (2001). "The Crisis of the Philippine National Bank and Its Political Consequences: 1919-1922". Southeast Asia: History and Culture. 2001 (30): 3–24. doi:10.5512/sea.2001.3.
9. Lumba, Allan (2013-07-25). "Monetary Authorities: Market Knowledge and Imperial Government in the Colonial Philippines, 1892 - 1942". University of Washington.

External link

• "La tragedia" del Banco Nacional Filipino / por Venancio Concepcion., available from the University of Michigan