The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Revealing details of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) investigation on the 142 bank accounts of Vice President Jejomar Binay and his associates is replete with criminal acts, and bank officials and media outfits responsible for the leakage could be held liable, according to former Makati Rep. Teddy Locsin Jr., one of the authors of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Amla).
Locsin said the leaked AMLC report on Binay was “illegal” and “not admissible in a court of law.”
“It is illegal to reveal anything that can only be known by the Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLC) in the performance of its duties,” Locsin said in his regular television commentary “Teditorial,” a word play on Teddyboy, his nickname, and “editorial,” a daily feature of ANC’s The World Tonight report.
“It is unnecessary nor important to know who leaked it to whom, even without traces, the mere use of the revelation in any shape or form including putting it out in the next edition of the news is criminal,” he added.
The camp of Binay had accused his political detractors of being behind the leakage of the AMLC investigation and the Court of Appeals (CA) freeze order on the bank accounts under probe.
Several newspapers and radio and television stations carried the alleged AMLC report. One major newspaper, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, in a banner story titled, “AMLC: Binay, allies deposits reach P11B,” on May 14, reported in part: “More than P600 million in cash was deposited in the bank accounts of alleged dummies of Vice President Jejomar Binay in various transactions in a single day, saccording to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report to te Court of Appeals (CA).”
In crafting the Amla, Locsin said the legislators made sure the publishing or broadcasting of anything uncovered by the AMLC is punishable by stiff fines, cancellation of franchises and by jail.
“No one wanted a law that allows the government that included extortionists and kidnappers in high office to get access to bank data regarding what they earn, what they profited from, and even what they stole,” he said.
He said the provision guarantees that those being accused of amassing illegal wealth “face the music only if the band playing was a court of law.”
“No one would submit to what we laughed at as the court of public opinion, which inflicts reputational damage on individuals such as the pet peeves and political enemies of the president by filing cases without legal evidence,” he said.
Section 9 of the Amla says the report of a covert or any suspicious transaction or any contents thereof or information derived therefrom cannot be communicated to any person or media.
“Media gets special mention. Thus, it is criminal to publish or to air in any manner or form of mass media or electronic mail and other similar devices, even so little as that a covert or suspicious transaction report was made, what more the contents of an account or information related thereto,” Locsin added.
“If this happens, the bank officers concerned and the media that puts it out are criminally liable as with illegal searches and seizures, anything thus obtained or used will be inadmissible in the court of law. This is public policy,” Locsin added.
A provision introduced by Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat in Amla also provided that, “this act shall not be used for political persecution or harassment.”
The provision also said no case for money laundering may be filed and no assets shall be frozen, attached or forfeited to the prejudice of a candidate during an election period.
“Election period is not defined, it could or may have not started. The fishing expedition should better return to court and filed the cases they have been threatening pronto,” Locsin added.
Associate Prof. Harry Roque of the University of the Philippines (UP) also observed that AMLC may have allowed itself to be used for partisan purposes in prying into the bank accounts of Binay and individuals associated with him.
At first look, the total amount subjected to a freeze order, P600 million, appears big but Roque said if the number of persons involved and their stature were considered, the amount in the bank accounts are not even significant.
The report that came out in major newspapers about the supposed leaked report stated the amount involved no less than 33 people who, on the average, puts a bank account at P18 million each. Roque said that’s no big deal considering the declared net worth of public officials.
President Aquino declared at least P50 million as his net worth in his annual Statement of Accounts, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), while Binay declared no less than P60 million.
“If the declared amount of Binay’s financial assets is deducted from the P600 million covered by the AMLC probe, the amount is further reduced to P16 million per person,” Roque said.
“Given that some of those on the list include Ten Outstanding Young Men awardee and Xavier alumnus Antonio Tiu, I’m sure the P600 million in frozen assets is insignificant since Tiu alone should be worth at least P600 million,” Roque said.
Roque described the AMLC report leak as a public relations (PR) coup for the handlers of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, the presumptive Liberal Party (LP) candidate “who until today, must believe that the best defense is offense.”
The AMLC is supposedly an independent body under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) but Julia Abad, daughter of LP chief strategist and Budget Secretary Butch Abad, sits as executive director of the AMLC.
The stories about the AMLC leak also made it appear that all of the bank accounts were owned by Binay, thus creating the impression of ill-gotten wealth.
“Unless the courts declare that the sum is actually fruits of a predicate crime under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, they enjoy the presumption of being clean money frozen due to political maneuverings,” Roque said.
Moreover, the act of freezing the assets of a sitting Vice President is not allowed, based on court precedents. Roque said the AMLA petition to freeze the assets of the VP, including the action of the Regional Trial Court to declare these funds as proceeds of predicate crimes under the law, violates Binay’s immunity from suits.
If the issue is taken before the Supreme Court, Roque expects the high court to immediately declare the freezing of the Binay’s assets as being unconstitutional.
Moreover, Roque questioned the propriety of reporting on the freeze order, which according to the law should remain confidential.
“Here, the secrecy is for at least two reasons: one, to prevent the account holders from concealing their assets. Two, and more importantly, it is to protect the reputation of the account holders since the freeze order is not tantamount to a finding of guilt,” Roque said. Luis Leoncio