AMLC: Info not from us

We refer to the 3 December 2008 column Gotcha of Mr. Jarius Bondoc.

Mr. Bondoc’s column quoted “an AMLC source” as saying that seven of the Bolante accounts could be linked to the deposits of a high politico in Malaysia.

We recognize Mr. Bondoc’s objectivity and admire his crusade to expose wrongdoings in government. In fairness, however, let it be made of record that the AMLC and its Secretariat personnel are not the source of the aforesaid information. Nobody among us has ever talked to anyone, including Mr. Bondoc, about the alleged deposits of a high politico in Malaysia. We do not know who this high politico is. Moreover, the AMLC and its officials are bound by the confidentiality requirements under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended, and its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations. — VICENTE C. AQUINO, Executive Director, Anti-Money Laundering Council, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex