Making the measure to ease the Bank Secrecy Law a priority for the remainder of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s term is a welcome development given the “already very limited window for legislation,” its proponent said.
“I think that (inclusion in legislative priorities) will facilitate [its legislation]. If the President will certify it as urgent, they (lawmakers) will know that economic managers need this bill for the sake of the public especially the depositors,” Quirino Representative and House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries Junie E. Cua said in a phone call.
House Bill 8991 filed by Mr. Cua will give the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) the power to scrutinize accounts of bank officials and employees when there are sufficient grounds for fraud. These findings will not be disclosed and will be for the exclusive use of the central bank. However, it may be shared with courts and other regulators “if necessary to prevent or prosecute an offense or crime.”
The measure has been approved at the committee level.
BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said they submitted in July to the Office of the President (OP) a memorandum requesting Mr. Duterte to certify the Bank Deposits Secrecy Bill as urgent.
“In response, the Office of the President in its letter, dated Aug. 1, informed BSP that in light of the significance and urgency of the enactment measure, it has referred the bill to the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council for prioritization and inclusion in the Common Legislative Agenda for the Executive and Legislative,” Mr. Diokno said at an online briefing on Thursday.
Mr. Cua said they are waiting for the bill to be scheduled for discussion at the plenary.
“I don’t see any more issues with the bill because we have already fine-tuned the language. It will really be limited to fraud, irregularity, and unlawful activities of bank officials,” he said.
“I hope it will be certified [as urgent] soon because there is already a very limited window for legislation,” Mr. Cua added.
Mr. Diokno said they have touched base with various offices of senators for possible sponsorship of a bill that will adopt the version of House Bill 8991, which was backed by the BSP.
Senator Grace S. Poe-Llamanzares, who chairs the Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries, said on Wednesday they will consider the transmittal of the House version together with the five other versions of the measure at the Senate. She said they will tackle the measure “as soon as the Committee calendar permits.”
The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) welcomed the inclusion of the measure in the legislative priorities of the administration.
“We are open to working with Congress on other necessary amendments that can be made in our bank secrecy laws in support of the lifting of the Philippines in the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) gray list,” the BAP said in a text message.
The country was placed under increased monitoring by the FATF in June and now needs to prove its effective implementation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws. Mr. Diokno said they expect the Philippines to be removed from the FATF’s “gray list” on or before January 2023.
Republic Act 11521, which further strengthened the Anti-Money Laundering Act, was signed only days ahead of the Feb. 1 deadline set by the FATF for the Philippines to show its effective implementation of more stringent AML/CTF measures. Meanwhile, Republic Act 11479 or the controversial Anti-Terror Act of 2020 signed in July 2020 laid out tougher measures against terrorism financing.
The International Monetary Fund has said that relaxing the Bank Secrecy Law will help boost the country’s regulations against “dirty money” and terrorism funding. — L.W.T. Noble