AMLC submits papers on Leila

MANILA, Philippines – After being warned of a possible  “confrontation,” the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) quickly heeded the call of President Duterte to submit to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) the documents against Sen. Leila de Lima and other former officials for alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II revealed yesterday the NBI requested several documents for its fact-finding probe on the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison but did not get any reply for about two months when they were supposed to include them in the drug trafficking complaint filed against De Lima and other officials.

This was where the President’s anger was apparently coming from, Aguirre said.

De Lima allegedly benefitted from the illegal drug trade at the NBP by collecting protection money.

“After the President issued his warning to the AMLC in his speech at about 3 p.m. (last Monday), the NBI received the response from them at around 4:30 p.m. or in less than two hours,” Aguirre bared in an interview.

He said the AMLC report was dated Nov. 11, 2016 but it was written using a ballpen and obviously prepared days earlier.

“We waited for that response from AMLC for several weeks, so the NBI could include it in the complaint. Because of the delay, the NBI could no longer wait and filed the case and decided to just pursue the AMLC report while the case is pending,” he explained.

The NBI is under the Department of Justice. Before she became senator, De Lima was DOJ secretary during the previous administration.

Asked what he thought could be the reason behind the delay on the part of AMLC, the justice secretary said it would be up to the public to conclude.

In his speech during the 80th founding anniversary of the NBI last Monday, Duterte warned the AMLC and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to cooperate with his administration’s efforts to run after laundered money “to avoid a confrontation between us.”

“I will call for you and you have to answer so many questions to me. You choose, either we cooperate in this government as a republic to protect and preserve our people or make it hard for us (and) I will make it hard for you,” Duterte said.

Aguirre earlier aired his frustration against the AMLC, saying it had been giving the NBI a hard time to build up a case against De Lima.

He said he was surprised by the AMLC dragging its feet on the case when it was able to immediately look into the records of former vice president Jejomar Binay when he was investigated by the Senate on corruption allegations during his time as mayor of Makati City.