BSP, AMLC defend House testimony against VP
Top officials of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and its mother agency, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Monday they were acting within their mandate and in accordance with law when they disclosed in a congressional hearing the bank records of Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband Manases “Mans” Carpio, who filed also on Monday a criminal complaint against them.
In a statement, the BSP said it had taken note of reports about the case filed against its governor, Eli Remolona Jr., who also chairs the AMLC, and against the council’s executive director, Ronel Buenaventura.
The central bank said Remolona had yet to receive a copy of the complaint and would “respond appropriately upon receipt, before the proper forum.”
Laws cited in complaint
“We emphasize that the BSP and the AMLC continue to perform their mandates in accordance with law, guided by independence, professionalism and due process,” the BSP said.
Carpio filed before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office charges of “illegal and felonious” public disclosure of confidential bank records—in connection with the April 22 hearing of the House committee on justice where AMLC reports were presented, detailing bank transactions by Duterte and Carpio from 2006 to 2025.
A lawyer like the Vice President, Carpio accused Remolona and Buenaventura as well as Representatives Percival Cendaña, Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno, Leila de Lima and Gerville Luistro, the committee chair, of violating the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Bank Secrecy Law and Data Privacy Act.
Peter Paul Danao, Carpio’s lawyer, argued that there are no exceptions under the law for the AMLC to disclose information on the bank records without a court order or the depositor’s consent.
Buenaventura succeeded Matthew David as AMLC executive director on April 14. Before that appointment, he served as acting deputy director of the AMLC Secretariat’s commitments and policy group and played a key role in the country’s exit from the global dirty-money “gray list.”
During the April 22 second clarificatory hearing by the House justice panel—which is determining the substance of the impeachment complaints against the Vice President—Buenaventura confirmed that the AMLC had looked into both “covered” and “suspicious” transactions by Duterte and Carpio.
Buenaventura said the AMLC flagged 33 suspicious transactions and 630 covered dealings totaling P6.7 billion that were traced to their bank accounts.
De Lima randomly picked 18 transactions in former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV’s affidavit against Duterte, asking if this would match the AMLC records. Buenaventura confirmed the transactions were in the council’s records, but said the AMLC cannot divulge information on the nature and location of the transfers.
Relevant provisions
Both De Lima and Diokno maintained in separate interviews on Monday that, according to Section 3 of the Bank Secrecy Law (Republic Act No. 1405), deposits are considered confidential, “except upon written permission of the depositor, or in cases of impeachment, or upon order of a competent court in cases of bribery or dereliction of duty of public officials, or in cases where the money deposited or invested is the subject matter of the litigation.”
De Lima also said Carpio’s complaint only reinforces the existence of transactions flagged by the AMLC.
“What Attorney Carpio only questioned was their disclosure to the public, during the committee hearing. But he doesn’t say there are no … suspicious or covered transactions. [This is] an admission of the existence of these transactions, isn’t it?” she said in an online interview.
Danao, however, asked: “How can our client deny or admit these transactions if we were never provided a copy of these reports from AMLC?”
He said “based on our conversation with Attorney Carpio, he vehemently denies having P6 billion worth of transactions in their bank accounts.”
Danao also cited Section 8-A of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 (RA 9160), stating that, “The AMLC and its secretariat shall not in any way disclose any information in any manner.”
“If Congress wanted an exception, they should have written it into the law. There is no exception,” he said.
‘Just a simple person’
Explaining the inclusion of lawmakers in Carpio’s complaint, Danao said: “These congressmen were the ones who motioned… AMLC to reveal this information. They were the ones who signed the subpoena for these bank records and tax returns.”
He said his client “is not a politician. So, if you were in his place, just a simple person, suddenly you’re [exposed], wouldn’t you also [object]?”
“Everyone who has a hand [in] this should be made accountable. If they violated laws, then the proper thing to do is to file a case against them,” Danao said.
The committee will hold only one more hearing on April 29, when it is expected to tackle Duterte’s death threats against President Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez. —WITH REPORTS FROM TETCH TORRES-TUPAS AND GABRIEL PABICO LALU
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