Palace backs BSP, AMLC on CJ accounts

MANILA, Philippines -  Malacañang threw its support behind the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) over the reported leak of the bank records of Chief Justice Renato Corona, saying what is more important is that the accounts were proven to be authentic.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said there was no need to look into the alleged leakage of Corona’s bank records since the BSP’s anti-money laundering arm and even the AMLC debunked the claim of Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) president Pascual Garcia III that Corona’s deposit account records – including his signature cards – were accessed and audited when PSBank underwent regular examination from Oct. 21 to Dec. 6, 2010.

“Senator (Franklin) Drilon asked (Garcia on Monday): ‘Are the account numbers accurate?’ He said: ‘All the account numbers are accurate.’ So what are we discussing or what are we debating? Did the truth come out? Were the figures accurate? Mr. Garcia said all of the account numbers were accurate. The figures he voluntarily or at least he disclosed to the Senate impeachment court,” Lacierda said.

He added that the fear of Sen. Joker Arroyo that the AMLC was being used for political persecution was baseless.

“The AML Act is very clear on where you can open the accounts and there’s a procedure that they need to follow and (AMLC) intends to do that. It’s an independent body and intends to be professional in handling the money laundering activities of certain people,” Lacierda said.

“Mr. Garcia erroneously identified the anti-money laundering specialist as from (AMLC) and it turned out to be false. And then BSP already issued a statement that they did not examine the records of Mr. Corona. So as to the source of that document, they should be able to investigate on their own and it’s up to the Senate to determine that,” he added. 

AMLC denies review of Corona accounts

AMLC executive director Vicente Aquino said in a statement yesterday that the testimony made by Garcia before the impeachment court was inaccurate, misleading, and unfair.

“The AMLC has not conducted any audit, targeted or otherwise, of Chief Justice Corona’s deposit accounts with PSBank. The AMLC has no audit functions under the amended Anti Money Laundering Act (AMLA),” Aquino said.

He said Section 11 of the AMLA allows the council to inquire into or examine any particular deposit or investment with any banking institution or non-bank financial institution only upon order of any competent court.

“If and when the AMLC applies with a competent court for an inquiry order, the court must first give prior notice to the account owner about a planned inquiry or examination pursuant to the ruling of the Supreme Court,” he said.  – With Lawrence Agcaoili, Delon Porcalla