CITING recent developments and issues raised on the secrecy of certain bank accounts and the need to promote transparency and accountability in the government, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada filed a bill amending the law governing foreign-currency deposits in the country.
Under Senate Bill 3120, Estrada introduced amendment to the four-decade old Republic Act 6426 to include the “order of an Impeachment Court or any competent court on cases involving public officials charged with the violation of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act” as exception to the confidentiality clause of the law.
The amendment further provides that probable cause be established that the foreign-currency deposit involved is directly related to the cause of action in the complaint.
RA 6426, otherwise known as “An Act Instituting a Foreign-Currency Deposit System in the Philippines,” declares that all foreign-currency deposits are considered absolutely confidential nature except upon the written permission of the depositor.
In addition, the law states that in no instance shall foreign-currency deposits be examined, inquired or looked into by any person or government office whether judicial, administrative or legislative, or any other entity.
“The said law is being used as an excuse and as a refuge to hide alleged illegally acquired wealth of public officials and employees,” Estrada said in the bill’s explanatory note.
The measure shall cover all public officials, including those identified as impeachable officers, who may have engaged in corrupt and other criminal activities.
Article XI (Accountability of Public Officers) of the 1987 Constitution provides that the President, the Vice President, the members of the Supreme Court, the members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office through impeachment.
Moreover, Estrada said that the bill aims to discourage private individuals who may intend to hide their unlawful deposits by converting their illegal income into foreign currency deposits.
Senate Bill 3120 was referred to the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies for consideration.
A member of the House of Representatives has also filed a measure that will allow courts to scrutinize foreign deposits of public officials, saying that the Foreign Currency Deposit Act was being used by “crooks” in the government as an “absolute” excuse to stash their loot.
House Bill 5838, that was filed by Liberal Party Rep. Salvio Fortuno of Camarines Sur, seeks to allow an Impeachment Court, court of competent jurisdiction and even the Ombudsman to look into the foreign-currency accounts of government officials and employees or when the accounts are the subject of litigation.
Fortuno apparently took his cue from the case of Chief Justice Renato Corona, where a move to open his dollar deposits with the PSBank was blocked by the high tribunal through its issuance of a temporary restraining.
The bank asked the Court for a TRO when its officials were summoned by the Impeachment Court, saying it could not violate RA 6426, or the Foreign Currency Deposit Act.
“The amendatory Presidential Decrees [PD 1034, 1035 and 1246] to Republic Act 6426 were designed to draw deposits from foreign lenders and investors and not from government crooks and criminals,” Fortuno stressed.
He said the law has “provided and will effectively provide a safe haven for corrupt public officials and criminals” since they could escape liability for their wrongful acts by “merely converting their loot to a foreign currency and depositing it in a foreign-currency deposit account beyond the reach of the authorities.”
B. Fernandez and R. Acosta
