Law on foreign currency deposits preventing Senate from prying into Corona account

Manila: A senator called for a review of the country's laws on foreign currency deposits amid a debacle over Senate impeachment court's inability to look into alleged dollar deposits of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Senator Ralph Recto, in a statement, said there is a need to revisit the Philippines' laws on foreign currency deposits and the confidentiality of bank accounts so that the legislature can come up with better laws responsive to "changing times and changing crimes."

The Philippines had been embroiled in more than a month long debacle that pitted the country's democratic institutions against each other as Corona is subjected to an impeachment trial with the Senate standing as judge and the House of Representatives taking the mantle as prosecutor.

In the latest episode in the Corona impeachment trial saga, the Supreme Court voted to issue a temporary restraining order preventing the Senate impeachment court from prying into the dollar bank accounts of Corona on the basis respect for the country's bank secrecy laws.

In rendering the decision, the Supreme Court said interpretation of the Constitution is the sole domain of the High Tribunal and not the Senate impeachment court.

"From hereon, in deference to the Supreme Court, the interpreter of the Constitution and guardian of our basic rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, this chair would suggest and recommend to this impeachment court and the two sides of the case -- the prosecutors and defence -- to take heed and let us discuss other issues other than foreign currency deposits because of the presence of a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court and will discuss that in due time," Senate President-Presiding Officer Juan Ponce Enrile said.

Information on Corona's bank deposits is crucial to pinning down the chief magistrate on several impeachment offences, particularly graft and corruption.

Hands tied

Recto said that the crux of the debacle concerning the inability of the senate impeachment court to pry into the account is the law on the confidentiality of bank accounts. "With FCDUs and the Bank Secrecy Act taking centre stage in the on-going impeachment trial, we deem it imperative to call a review of these laws," Recto, Senate ways and means committee chair, said.

"The review is not meant to de-fang said laws but to make certain that no one gets hurt or gets special treatment when the claws of these laws start to pounce on its object of prey," he added.

Recto said he has been receiving friendly admonitions from concerned members of the banking community about the ramifications of waiving or liberal application of the laws on FCDUs and the Bank Secrecy Act.

"The sum of the friendly heads-up that I have been getting is that this may result to a complete break down of confidence in the banking system," Recto said.

"Businessmen would be pondering the question - if the current banking laws would not be able to protect us, who would?" the senator added.

Recto said the review of the laws should provide a clearer direction on what revisions may be adopted to ensure that the banking sector would be shielded from political exercises such as the impeachment process.

"We don't want to start a fad wherein banks are called as hostile witness in every impeachment trial with its officers risking the pain of contempt should they fail to satisfy the demands of the impeachment court," he said, in filing Senate Resolution 711.