CEBU CITY—A high-ranking Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas official is pushing for the repeal or at least amendment to the bank deposit secrecy laws to make the country compliant with international standards and remove one of the impediments to the litigation of some criminal cases.
Deputy Governor Vicente Aquino, during the 12th annual media lecture series of the Bangko Sentral held at Crimson Resort over the weekend, said he was open to the idea of repealing or amending the two bank secrecy deposit laws in the country. He was referring to Republic Act 1405 passed into law in 1955 and Republic Act 6426 enacted in 1974.
“If a repeal is not successful, at least there must be substantial amendments in order to show the world that we are internationally compliant with anti-money laundering regulations. It is high time for us to do our part,” Aquino told journalists covering the banking beat.
Aquino said both laws had provisions stating bank deposits were confidential and, including foreign currency deposits, could not be examined by any person, government agency or bureau. Deposits can only be looked into if there is a written consent from the depositor.
“We have better chances of prosecuting people if the prosecutorial agencies have the authority to examine bank deposits. Currently, examination of bank deposits are allowed only after the filing of cases before the courts,” Aquino said.
Aquino said the speedy resolution of the recent $81-million money laundering scam recently could be achieved had the country’s laws allowed the examination of bank deposits of individuals suspected of any involvement in crimes.
“The fear of many individuals that they could be targets of criminals if they allow the amounts of their bank deposits be known has no solid basis. People are protective of their deposits, not because they are afraid of criminals, but because the source of their money might be questionable,” he said.
Aquino said one survey showed that most of those who were against the idea of having their bank deposits looked into by authorities usually belonged to the rich segment of society.
“If they have nothing to hide, then why object the disclosure of their bank deposits,” Aquino said.
He said if a repeal of the two laws was not successful, at least there must be an introduction of necessary amendments to these. He said most of other countries had already lifted their bank deposit secrecy laws.
He said if a repeal or amendments could not be made, its impediment to litigation of cases would remain and could jeopardize the judicial processes.
Aquino said he was confident amendments to the bank deposit secrecy laws could be sped up in the next Congress. He said Bangko Sentral had already proposed to both houses of Congress the inclusion of casinos and real estate agents in the covered individuals under the Anti-Money Laundering Law.
“Senator [Serge] Osmeña has already filed additional amendments to AMLC but we need additional champions in Congress to make this work,” Aquino said.