Lacson readies bill vs money laundering

Neophyte Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday he is finalizing a bill against money laundering where financial institutions will be required to report to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas owners of accounts of more than P500,000.

This way, Lacson said, deposits can easily be monitored and individuals with large amounts of money can be traced at once.

Lacson said his bill, to be patterned after existing laws in the United States and Australia, will provide stiff penalties against money launderers as well as incentives for law enforcement agents involved in the successful prosecution of violators.

"I am expecting objections, but I am here to serve the country and not my friends," he said, when asked if he was ready to face disapproval from his Chinese friends.

"It was shameful because when we were in Australia, the officials there were lambasting us for the country’s notoriety in money laundering," he recounted.

Lacson merely laughed when asked if his bill would be retroactive to cover the controversial Jose Velarde account.

Meanwhile, Lacson said he plans to revive a bill filed by former Sen. Raul Roco, now the education secretary, allowing warrantless arrests of people involved in crimes.

He said Roco’s bill was based on his proposal in 1994, which received so much flak because, he said, the public thought that there were no safeguards for those who would be arrested. — Aurea Calica