EXPERT: BANKS COULD SHED LIGHT ON CJ
$s / CJ: WE'LL DEBUNK BLOATED NUMBERS
MANILA,
MAY 15, 2012
(ABS-CBN) by David Dizon, - A banking law expert on Monday
said the Senate impeachment court may have to summon officials of local banks to
testify on Chief Justice Renato Corona's dollar deposits.
Atty Reynaldo Geronimo said an Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report on
Corona's dollar accounts all come from reports of local banks.
"The AMLC simply receives the report from the so-called covered
institutions…they have to eventually get to the bank and ask the covered
institutions to say what do you know of these transactions," Geronimo told ANC.
Geronimo said Corona cannot deny that he owns the dollar deposits once bank
officials are made to testify in court.
"I would think that if he denies that, the bank will be exposed to a
malicious report. In self-defense, they might say 'No, no, no, sir. Here's the
account. We were complying with the law,'" he said.
The banking law expert said the Supreme Court temporary restraining order
covers only specific dollar accounts in Philippine Savings Bank, and not other
accounts.
"If I read the TRO correctly, it was sought by PSBank to temporarily restrain
inquiry into their account not necessarily inquiry into other accounts," he
said.
He added; "The Senate impeachment court, I would imagine, would find it
reasonable to ask the different banks to shed light on these transactions."
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales testified on Monday that Corona had
at least $10 million in transactional balances in 82 US dollar accounts in 5
local banks. She said the information came from a report by AMLC Executive
Director Vicente Aquino.
PSBank president Pascual Garcia earlier testified before the Senate
impeachment court on Corona's peso accounts but refused to talk about the chief
magistrate's dollar accounts due to possible violation of Republic Act 6426 or
the Foreign Currency Deposits Act.
How AMLC learns about suspicious transactions
Geronimo said the AMLC has vast powers to look into bank accounts of persons
who are suspected of being engaged in suspicious transactions.
He said under the Anti-Money Laundering Law, banks are required to report any
covered transaction that is above P500,000 or its dollar equivalent.
On the other hand, local banks could also report transactions of clients that
are "way off the usual ordinary transaction of the client."
"The law permits you to open as many accounts as you like but there has to be
a business purpose or legitimate purpose. For example, I may have an account for
my granddaughter or for the education of my daughter abroad or an account to
receive payments from my lessees, I could open different accounts for different
purposes. I need not tell that to the bank but the bank has the obligation to
know me. The know-your-client obligation is one of the obligations under the
AMLA law…The bank as a covered institution must know the nature of the business
of the client. That is why it is on notice if something suspicious occurs
regardless of the amount," he said.
Geronimo said any bank that has suspicions about a client's financial
transactions could investigate the client further. He said the bank could ask
the client directly in a polite way or ask around.
"Ordinarily, the bank will not refuse an account because the branch manager
is under pressure to increase the deposits. But they also have the obligation
that these are clean money," he said.
"The branch manager, if I was his lawyer, I would advise him to inquire into
the reason why there is this flow of money. It could be he is investing his
family's funds…Amongst bankers, there are trust officers who talk to one another
and say 'Ah, legit yan because he just sold a piece of property.'"
FROM PHILSTAR
We will debunk all her bloated numbers - CJ (The
Philippine Star) Updated May 15, 2012 12:00 AMComments (4)
MANILA, Philippines - Chief Justice Renato Corona vowed yesterday to
disprove the allegations of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales in her testimony
before the Senate impeachment court.
"We will debunk all her bloated numbers. And once she is proven wrong, I urge
her to immediately resign from her post for allowing herself to be used by this
administration and making a laughingstock of 'government auditing.' Indeed, this
is another LRA hoax," Corona said in a statement last night.
He was referring to the Land Registration Authority.
Corona said Morales' testimony was "quite unfortunate, if not very
malicious."
"I don't know how she came up with her own mathematical equation. She made a
hodgepodge out of the accounts, making her numbers chaotic," Corona said. "The
number of accounts alone is at best ridiculous. Her PowerPoint diagram is a
lantern of lies which only messed up her presentation, contrary to what some
believe now as damning evidence."
"Either she does not know what she is talking about, or is purposely
misleading the impeachment court and the public," Corona said.
His lawyers also slammed what they said was an apparent collaboration between
the Ombudsman and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), saying it reflected
a "systematic effort" to pin down Corona on his alleged $10-million bank
deposits.
"Is it ordinary for the Ombudsman to coordinate with the AMLC? That does not
happen most of the time," defense panel spokesman Rico Quicho said. "If that can
be done, why was it not done in other cases?" "We can see that their accusation
against the Chief Justice is orchestrated and systematic," he added.
Quicho, however, declined to say who is behind the efforts against Corona.
"Kayo naman, alam niyo na yan (You know who they are)," he said.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales told the impeachment court yesterday that
the source of information about Corona's supposed $10-million accounts is the
AMLC.
Corona's lawyers are puzzled as to why the documents about the alleged $10
million did not come out earlier.
"They (accusers) already have the information and documents. When they were
asking the Chief Justice to answer the allegations, why did they not release
them? Do we need to have them summoned before the Senate before they clarify
whether they have evidence?" Quicho said.
Corona's lawyers also want to know whether the proper procedures were
followed when the Ombudsman coordinated with the AMLC.
Tranquil Salvador, another spokesman for the defense, said an AMLC official
could be summoned to determine if proper procedures were complied with.
Defense panel spokesperson Karen Jimeno said while the law allows the
Ombudsman to coordinate with state agencies, this is subject to certain
requirements.
"Under the law, we follow specific process on how to coordinate with agencies
like AMLC. There should be court proceeding, a formal request. The issue here is
if the proper process were followed," she said.
Jimeno also questioned why the Ombudsman had probed Corona's alleged dollar
accounts while an impeachment trial is ongoing.
She said Section 22 of the Ombudsman Act states that the Ombudsman can
conduct an investigation in relation to the filing of an impeachment complaint.
On the other hand, Section 21 of the same law provides for the disciplinary
authority of the Ombudsman in relation to impeachable officers.
"(The Ombudsman) has no jurisdiction until the impeachable officer is removed
from office. The Ombudsman is acting under Section 22 and we think since there
is a pending impeachment complaint, this is still within that one year
prohibition," Jimeno said.
Hearsay
Retired Supreme Court associate justice and lead defense counsel Serafin
Cuevas, on the other hand, belittled the testimony of Morales, dismissing it as
mere hearsay.
"Eh wala naman e (That's nothing). What did she say? We cannot cross-examine
her (Morales) on the accuracy of figures and everything and then she said she is
supposedly tired," Cuevas told reporters after yesterday's hearing.
Cuevas said Morales' statement did not put a dent on their case.
"Those were transactional accounts. There was no opening balance and no
closing balance. It was not stated which among them are still active and which
are no longer active," he said.
Cuevas said they do not regret asking the impeachment court to summon
Morales.
"There is no basis for the $10 million (account). That was clearly
established," he said.
Cuevas added they have also urged the impeachment court to subpoena AMLC
executive director Vicente Aquino.
Focus
Meanwhile, the prosecution panel is asking Corona to focus on his dollar
deposits with Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank)-Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City
branch if and when he finally testifies in his Senate impeachment trial.
"We are more interested in the PSBank dollar accounts, on which we have
presented evidence and which have already been confirmed by the president of the
bank, Mr. Pascual Garcia III," Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, a prosecution
spokesman, said yesterday.
He said the prosecution and the impeachment court failed to proceed to
opening those accounts because the Supreme Court (SC) stopped them from
examining the deposits by issuing a temporary restraining order (TRO).
"We know that those five accounts exist, or at least they existed. We just
don't know how much dollars they held," he said.
The SC issued the TRO in response to a petition filed by PSBank, though
Corona had a separate similar petition.
"We believe those dollar deposits are so substantial as to prompt the Chief
Justice to run to the Supreme Court to stop the Senate from opening them,"
Angara said.
He recalled that Garcia confirmed the existence of Corona's five dollar
accounts in PSBank-Katipunan branch on questioning by Senate President Juan
Ponce Enrile, the presiding judge of Corona's trial.
The bank official initially hesitated since the law prohibits disclosure of
foreign currency accounts, but Enrile said he was not asking about details of
any of the deposits.
The Senate president then enumerated the numbers of five dollar and five peso
accounts attributed to Corona, and Garcia confirmed all of them.
Responding to a subpoena issued by the impeachment court, Garcia revealed
details on Corona's five peso accounts. Three of them had been closed before
2010, while two held more than P19 million as of Dec. 31, 2010.
Another account in Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) held more than P12
million as of the same date.
Prosecutors said Corona did not declare his combined peso deposits of more
than P31 million and his dollar accounts in his 2010 SALN as he reported "cash
and investments" amounting only to P3.5 million.
The prosecution identified the 10 peso and dollar accounts of Corona in
PSBank based on photocopies of bank documents volunteered by an anonymous
source.
The documents, all signed by Corona, include an "Application and Agreement
for Deposit Account" covering five dollar accounts and marked, "Updated as of
July 20, 2007."
The application did not indicate the amount of dollars held in the five
accounts, but it reflects the five account numbers.
Another document is a "Customer Identification and Specimen Signature Card."
This particular document names the account holders as "Castillo, Constantino
III or Corona, Ma. Beatriz Eugenia R. or Renato C." but with only the Chief
Justice as sole authorized signatory. It is for a separate dollar account, for
which an initial deposit of $7,301 was made on April 16, 2007.
Another signature card indicates an initial deposit of "$700k," which the
prosecution interprets to mean $700,000.
Corona's lawyers have claimed in media interviews that the P31 million found
in PSBank and BPI under Corona's name as of end 2010 and his dollar deposits in
PSBank are only held in trust by their client and belong to his children and the
family corporation of his wife, Basa-Guidote Enterprises.
Angara said such claim is not credible because both the peso and dollar
deposits are in the name of the Chief Justice.
The conclusion that could be derived from such fact is that the deposits are
owned personally by Corona, he said.
During last week's trial, Enrile secured the commitment of defense counsel
Jose Roy III that the Chief Justice would answer questions relating to the $10
million being linked to him as well as the PSBank dollar accounts confirmed by
Garcia.
Enrile said if the assets are found existing and they have not been declared,
a violation of the provision of the Constitution requiring disclosure has been
committed.
Roy tried to put a qualification to the provision, saying the non-disclosure
must be malicious and intentional. But Enrile said the Constitution does not
provide for a qualification. –With Jess Diaz
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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