Sandigan allows release of Napoles bank records

MANILA, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan has paved the way for the release of the financial and bank transactions of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

In a ruling promulgated on Tuesday and released yesterday, the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division denied the motion of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) seeking to quash the subpoena that the court earlier issued for the agency to produce several reports on Napoles’ funds.

The court said the AMLC’s refusal to produce the subpoenaed documents on the ground of confidentiality provision of Republic Act 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act “lacks basis.”

“To recapitulate, the AMLC miserably failed to show that the subpoena…dated Nov. 29, 2016 is unreasonable and oppressive. The documents sought to be produced are relevant and material in the present case,” the ruling penned by Associate Justice Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega read.

Associate Justices Rafael Lagos and Reynaldo Cruz concurred with the ruling.

The court issued the subpoena following a motion filed by former senator Jinggoy Estrada in preparation for the upcoming trial of his plunder case over his alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel scam.

Among the documents that Estrada prayed in his motion to be subpoenaed by the court was the AMLC’s inquiry report on Napoles’ “bank and other financial transactions” from 2004 to 2012.

Estrada’s camp likewise asked the court to subpoena any “suspicious transaction reports and covered transaction reports” submitted to AMLC by banks, non-bank financial institutions, covered institutions or any other government agencies still concerning the financial transactions of Napoles from 2004 to 2012, “including those pertaining to related accounts relative to Ms. Napoles.”

In its resolution, the court dismissed the AMLC’s claim that presentation of “suspicious transaction reports and covered transaction reports” is prohibited under Section 9 (c) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

The court said AMLC is not among the institutions covered by the confidentiality clause of the law.

“The law is clear: the non-disclosure of the said report applies to covered institutions, their officers and employees...Clearly, the AMLC is not one of the covered institutions mentioned in Section 3 (a) of RA 9160, as amended. Perforce, the AMLC cannot validly invoke the rule on confidentiality,” the ruling read.

The court further dismissed the AMLC’s claim that most of the documents that Estrada was seeking to be presented in court were irrelevant to the case as these “merely involve investigative techniques and methodology.”

“Senator Estrada did not err in pointing out that he is entitled to inquire into the methodology used by the AMLC in the conduct of its investigation. The accuracy of the AMLC report hinges on the manner how the investigation was carried out,” the ruling read.

Estrada is facing plunder and graft charges before the Fifth Division over the alleged misuse of his pork barrel during his term as a senator.