P-Noy dares Corona: Bare dollar accounts

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino challenged yesterday Chief Justice Renato Corona to disclose all his bank accounts if he has nothing to hide.

In an interview at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in Taguig, Aquino said Corona’s alleged “$700K” in Philippine Savings Bank contradicts the P23 million he had declared in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

“Bakit hindi tugma?” he said.“Ngayon kung biglang haharangin iyung pagsiyasat niyan, pangit iyung mensaheng kinakalat natin sa lahat, na ito ang paraan para maitago.”

(It doesn’t add up. Now if we suddenly restrain the investigation it might appear that something is being hidden).

Aquino said the Supreme Court (SC) ruling protecting the secrecy of foreign currency deposits had became a tool for injustice.

“Parang napakahigpit, napaka-narrow ng definition nila doon sa pagbasa doon sa batas na tungkol sa foreign currency deposit,” he said.(The reading of the law on foreign currency deposit is too narrow).

Aquino said people who committed injustice must not find refuge in the Foreign Currency Deposits Act.

“Merong SC decision doon sa Salvacion case kung saan sinabi na wala naman sigurong intensyon itong batas na ito na magre-refuge ang mga taong (may kasalanan),” he said. (There’s an SC decision on the Salvacion case that said the law has no intention to serve as refuge for those who committed wrongdoing).

Aquino raised fears that corrupt officials might convert their multi-million-peso accounts into dollar-denominated deposits since it is beyond the reach of the courts.

“Uulitin ko lang ang buod ng ating agam-agam,” he said. “Puwede bang maging taguan ng mga taong may ginawang mali iyang paglalagay ng kanilang proceeds from that crimes into a dollar account?” (We’ll just reiterate the gist of our doubts – can’t those with ill-gotten wealth hide the proceeds in a dollar account?)

Palace: SC weakening impeach court

In blocking the opening of the dollar accounts of Corona, the SC is trying to weaken the impeachment court, Malacañang said yesterday.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda

said the SC will emasculate every order of the impeachment court.

“That is why it is untenable for the Senate to consider to even defer to the SC even in interlocutory orders because the basis is grave abuse of discretion,” he said.

Lacierda said he disagrees with Fr. Joaquin Bernas, one of the framers of the Constitution, that the SC has the authority to intervene when it involves cases of grave abuse of discretion.

“With due respect to Father Bernas, we disagree with him,” he said.

“We believe that the Senate has jurisdiction, sole jurisdiction, of the impeachment case.”

The impeachment court’s mandate is to hold accountable impeachable officials like Corona, he added.

Lacierda said the SC’s decision to interfere has set a bad precedent. “It won’t stop,” he said. “Nagpaparinig na ang defense, sabi nila even in the peso accounts, they are going to say: ‘It’s a fishing expedition.’

“What will stop them now from going to the SC and say: ‘Your honors, the peso accounts, while it has been revealed, was a product of the poisonous tree.’ That’s another question of law. The SC will say: ‘Teka, we have jurisdiction. We are going to rule on that.’

“Kung sa final judgment sabihin nila may grave abuse of discretion, paano na?” (If in final judgment they rule there was grave abuse of discretion, what happens now?)

Aquino warns SC

Aquino warned the SC against setting a bad precedent in stopping the opening of Corona’s dollar accounts.

The country must not be a refuge for thieves and money launderers, he added.

Aquino reminded the SC that the Philippines was a signatory to international treaties against money laundering.

“(This) certain precedent (that I am highlighting) might result in sanctions from the world financial community, if we do not adhere to treaty obligations. So there might be a strike on the economy,” he said.

Aquino said a lawmaker told him a bad precedent would protect the 31 impeachable officials against the 95 million Filipinos.

“Maybe the interest of the 95 million people must prevail over that of the 31 who can be impeached,” he said.

“That’s the thought hovering in my mind as regards this issue on dollar accounts.”

Aquino said the SC held no oral arguments to hear the government’s side and allow the Senate and the House of Representatives to appeal.

Congress has the exclusive power to hold an impeachment trial and the SC could not encroach on other branches of government, he added.

Aquino said the laws on foreign currency accounts must be reviewed as they might violate international treaties against money laundering.

These laws have no intention to protect persons under investigation for alleged irregularities, he added.

Aquino: No constitutional crisis yet

Aquino said a constitutional crisis was hypothetical at this point, and that the executive will not yet intervene in the looming battle between the SC and the Senate over the TRO on the opening of Corona’s dollar accounts.

“Let us see if it will reach that point (constitutional crisis),” he said.

“We need to see the reaction of the Senate. Nobody wants a constitutional crisis.”

Aquino said an individual’s right must be assessed against the interest of the majority.

“In a democracy, the majority makes the decision for everybody,” he said.

“If that’s the case, there are heavy allegations, there are suspicions and then you close the avenues to find out the truth.

“How could that decision help in moving forward the justice system in our country?

“And that is the primary obligation of the Supreme Court, to push for a good justice system in the country.”

Lawmaker wants secrecy lifted

A lawmaker filed yesterday a bill seeking to lift the secrecy of dollar deposits and other foreign currency accounts in an impeachment trial and a few other cases.

Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said a 1977 presidential decree gave nearly absolute protection to dollar deposits and other foreign currency accounts to encourage the flow of foreign funds into the country.

“The impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona has highlighted the possibility that corrupt government officials could exploit the absolute secrecy afforded to foreign currency deposits to conceal their ill-gotten wealth,” he said.

The SC has stopped the Senate impeachment court from examining Corona’s five dollar accounts with Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank).

Tinio said the secrecy provision of the presidential decree was later included in the Foreign Currency Deposits Act under which an account could be examined only upon the depositor’s consent.

“Subsequent developments have rendered obsolete these special protections provided by law to foreign currency deposits,” he said.

“While there may have been a relative scarcity of foreign currency in the domestic banking and financial system in the 1970s, this is clearly no longer the case today.”

Unless the law is amended, corrupt government personnel and members of crime syndicates could hide their ill-gotten wealth in foreign currency accounts, Tinio said.

Under Tinio’s bill, a foreign currency deposit could be examined upon the written permission of the depositor, or in cases of impeachment, or upon order of a competent court in cases of bribery or dereliction of duty of public officials, or in cases where the money deposited or invested is the subject of litigation.

Tinio said the bill would put foreign currency accounts at par with peso deposits, which the Bank Secrecy Law allows to be scrutinized in an impeachment trial.

PSBank president Pascual Garcia III disclosed before the Senate impeachment details about Corona’s five peso accounts with his bank while he refused to give information about the five dollar accounts, he added.

Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada said the SC’s TRO on the examination of Corona’s dollar deposits sets a bad precedent.

“It sends the message that corrupt officials and crime gangs can now convert their assets into dollars and hide them in foreign currency accounts,” he said.  – With Aurea Calica, Jess Diaz