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BY AYIN DREAM D. APLASCA
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Tuesday. September 12, 2017
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FRIDAY last week, President Rodrigo Duterte delivered a speech during the 26th Mindanao Business Conference in Cagayan de Oro City. He said he obtained documents on the supposedly offshore bank accounts of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. Additionally, he said the documents would be coming out in the next few days.
In the case of Senator Trillanes, he firmly denied the allegation. He said he doesn’t have even a single offshore bank account.
He then said when the President discloses the details of his (President) bank account, he (Trillanes) will immediately sign a waiver for the AMLC and the Ombudsman.
AMCL is the Anti-Monday Laundering Council. What does it do?
AMLC was created pursuant to Republic Act 9160, otherwise known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) of 2001. Its purpose is to protect the integrity and confidentiality of bank accounts and to ensure that the Philippines shall not be used as a money laundering site for the proceeds of any unlawful activity.
Under AMLA, banks are required to report to AMLC any suspicious transaction made by any of its clients. Suspicious transactions involve anything half a million and more.
This is important to protect the rights of the client as well as the relationship between a bank and its client. This relationship is called fiduciary and is considered by a highest degree of trust.
This fiduciary relationship is reinforced by Republic Act 1405 or the Bank Secrecy Law. This law prohibits banks from disclosing information about bank deposits without the consent of the depositor concerned. The exemptions under this law are: the depositor gives a written consent; cases of impeachment; upon an order of a competent court in case of bribery or dereliction of duty of a public official; or cases where the money deposited or invested is the subject matter of litigation.
Both laws grant protection to all deposits with banks or banking institutions in the country making all deposits confidential. These may not be examined or looked by any person, government, official, bureau, or office.
When both Duterte and Trillanes invoke the said laws, both their bank deposits will be protected. With what’s happening right now, whose bank accounts can invoke the very high degree of trust and protection?
Let’s see who wins, if ever.
(Atty. Ayin Dream D. Aplasca practices her profession in Iloilo City. She may be reached thru ayindream.aplasca@gmail.com/PN)
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