WITH the peso closing at its five-month high against the US dollar on Wednesday, at P42.21, one may wonder why anyone will want to keep their liquid assets in the foreign currency instead of peso. That is, unless one is perhaps motivated, for one reason or the other, to keep such assets from prying eyes or from some form of inquiry or review.

If one is not mistaken, even in instances when credit check is done on persons or corporations, as part of due diligence or research or private investigation, most investigators can access only peso-deposit accounts and not necessarily foreign currency deposit units or FCDUs. This, of course, is the result of Republic Act (RA) 6426 or the Foreign Currency Deposit Act of the Philippines.

RA 6426 actually offers a lot of “benefits” or “incentives.” Section 5 of the law, on transferability of deposits, provides that “there shall be no restriction on the withdrawal by the depositor of his deposit or on the transferability of the same abroad except those arising from the contract between the depositor and the bank.”

And Section 6 provides that, “All foreign currency deposits…including interest and all other income or earnings of such deposits, are hereby exempted from any and all taxes whatsoever irrespective of whether or not these deposits are made by residents or non-residents so long as the deposits are eligible or allowed under…laws and, in the case of non-residents, irrespective of whether or not they are engaged in trade or business in the Philippines.”

More important perhaps, particularly to unscrupulous depositors, is Section 8, which states, “All foreign currency deposits…are hereby declared as and considered of an absolutely confidential nature and, except upon the written permission of the depositor, in no instance shall foreign currency deposits be examined, inquired or looked into by any person, government official, bureau or office whether judicial or administrative or legislative, or any other entity whether public or private.”

Section 8 also provides “that said foreign currency deposits shall be exempt from attachment, garnishment, or any other order or process of any court, legislative body, government agency or any administrative body whatsoever.” Note that these provisions are presumed to be put in effect in consonance with central bank rules and limits set by the anti-money laundering law. And this brings us to the present controversy over the dollar-deposit accounts of impeached Chief Justice Renato Coronado Corona. One cannot help but wonder how foreign or nonresident depositors, foreign companies doing business in the Philippines, and big-time local depositors feel right now as the Senate appears inclined to press on with its subpoena of bank documents related to the Corona dollar accounts.

It is almost certain that the banking industry is likewise jittery, awaiting the turn of events particularly after the testimony of Pascual Garcia, president of the Philippine Savings Bank, on Wednesday and Thursday regarding Corona’s peso-deposit accounts. He declined, however, to offer any information on Corona’s dollar accounts, to avoid any liability for such disclosure.

The sad part is that despite his cooperation, Garcia can still be cited by the Senate for contempt and penalized. And this seemed to be the previous inclination of the congressmen-prosecutors, who summoned Garcia as witness and subpoenaed bank documents in what appeared to be an attempt to fish for evidence against Corona at his impeachment trial.

Another concern is the threat by Sen. Sergio Osmeña III to subpoena, and possibly cite in contempt as well, the owners and entire board of directors of Philippine Savings Bank or PSBank, a 76-percent subsidiary of one of the country’s biggest universal banks, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. or Metrobank. If this happens, then the repercussions can be grave.

Metrobank is controlled by taipan George Ty, the local partner of major Japanese conglomerate Toyota. His PSBank is chaired by Jose Pardo, who served in the Cabinet under former President Joseph Estrada. And aside from Ty himself, senior advisers to the bank include Domingo Lee, President Aquino’s nominee as Philippine ambassador to China. Bank lawyer is Regis Puno.

Garcia is on the hot seat until who knows when. He was brave to face the Senate and the seeming arrogance of some senators, and to take the cudgels for PSBank, despite possible charges by Corona and contempt raps by the Senate. To my mind, he should be cited not for contempt but instead, cited positively for opting to uphold the dignity and integrity of banking in the country. Garcia deserves not ridicule but respect, particularly from his depositors.

Lawmakers, and not Garcia, are to blame for the limits imposed by RA 6426 as well as other bank secrecy laws. These laws should already be amended, anyway, in light of greater public demand worldwide for more transparency and accountability, not only in government but in the private sector as well. But until then, what gives lawmakers the right to criticize or even bully Garcia for strictly following the law and protecting bank depositors?

One is left with the impression, rightly or wrongly, that the Impeachment Court truly believes itself supreme practically over everything, perhaps even over some limits set by law, in relation to the Corona trial. But is this truly the case, legally and politically? How supreme is it, really? To be supreme is to be above reproach, above all. In this line, can the senators be dared to authorize their respective banks to publicly disclose all their peso and dollar-deposit accounts, just so that the public can compare these disclosures with their respective Statements of Assets and Liabilities and Net worth?

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