Updated December 12, 2011 12:00 AM

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=757575&publicationSubCategoryId=63

MANILA, Philippines - The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has expressed support to a proposed law by Sen. Franklin Drilon for the amendment of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), particularly the revocation of bank confidentiality rule on accounts pursued by government.

Senate Bill 3009 aims to give the government the power to examine bank accounts deemed suspicious ex parte, or without prior notice to the affected parties.

“If you are conducting an investigation would you want to give advance notice to the person subject of your investigation. What are you doing? It’s plain common sense, as an investigator you don’t telegraph your punches,” said AMLC executive director Vicente Aquino over the weekend.

“Otherwise you won’t be able to run after criminal proceeds. In an instant, suspect would withdraw bank deposits without a chance for us to freeze those,” he added.

Under the proposed law, the AMLC would be allowed to secure a freeze order on questioned accounts even prior to hearing in court for judicial determination of probable cause on the alleged crimes.

Aquino admitted their agency needs help in running after money launderers and plugging loopholes in the law.

The AMLA was enacted in 2001, but a Supreme Court ruling in 2008 penned by retired Justice Dante Tinga defined its limit on the case of bank deposits of Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (PIATCO), then Transportation Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez and undersecretaries Primitivo Cal and Wilfredo Rivera, who facilitated the bidding for the controversial NAIA Terminal 3.

The high court junked the bid of AMLC to examine the bank accounts of the respondents, saying government’s examinations of bank accounts of suspects in kidnapping, illegal drugs and other high crimes should be “de parte” which means they should undergo court hearing first.

Aquino said that the SC ruling has been preventing the AMLC from pursuing its cases. He cited for instance the corruption cases of retired military comptroller Jacinto Ligot and wife Erlinda, where the subject of investigation is an amount of P740 million but only P73.6 million was covered by freeze order; the rest had been allegedly withdrawn.

In his recent speech in the Senate, Drilon stressed that the freeze order should be treated just like a search warrant that needs urgent implementation - contrary to the findings of the SC that it requires probable cause.

“The notice and hearing which Justice Tinga requires will defeat the purpose of its issuance since any impending inquiry made known to the bank account holder will allow the removal or concealment of the funds deposited therein or, at the least, the resort to all legal remedies in order to prevent the AMLC from getting a bank inquiry order in its favor,” he said.