Far East Bank & Trust Company v. Robert Mar Chante

Summary

Far East Bank sued depositor Robert Mar Chante for P770,488.30 representing unrecovered balance from 242 ATM withdrawals totaling P967,000 made using his card over 8 hours in May 1992. The withdrawals exceeded his account balance and daily limits due to a computer 'system bug' that allowed transactions when his branch was offline. The RTC initially ruled for the bank based on circumstantial evidence of Chan's subsequent conduct. However, the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court reversed, finding insufficient evidence that Chan personally made the withdrawals. The courts noted the bank's own admission of the system bug, inconsistencies in ATM records, failure to prove actual cash dispensing, and the possibility of inside job by someone familiar with the computer system. The Supreme Court emphasized the bank's burden of proof and exclusive responsibility for system security, ultimately ordering the bank to reimburse Chan the amount it had debited from his account.