ZAMBOANGA CITY, (PNA) — The Zamboanga City Bankers and Financiers Association (ZCBFA) has assured the public there will be sufficient money in the different banks’ Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) as the standoff continues.
The standoff started Monday when hundreds of Misuari-faction Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels infiltrated this city.
“Rest assured that if they need cash, they can easily withdraw through ATM machines,” ZCBFA president Alma Paculanan said Wednesday.
Paculanan has assured the depositors that the banks will be opened for business once the situation will normalize.
However, Paculanan said this will still depend on the discretion of the bank’s management.
Some of the ZCBFA member-banks have opened for few hours Wednesday morning and accommodated some of the passbook holders, according to Paculanan.
ZCBFA has a total of 58 member banks and three lending institutions operating in this southern port city.
Meanwhile, Paculanan advised the public to budget their finances amid the crisis since there is no fix schedule yet when the local banks will resume operations.
The banks and other commercial establishments as well as government and private offices and schools were closed since Monday when hostilities broke out.
Some of the commercial establishments resumed operations Wednesday.