Exceptions to the Bank Secrecy Law

The vice president, who is a member of the Philippine Bar, and her lawyer husband, Atty. Mans Carpio and their whole battalion of lawyers, should study the Bank Secrecy Law very punctiliously and assiduously and take note of the law's many exceptions.

The DDS as well as the BBM partisans should brush up on their knowledge of the law before they call multiple press conferences and mislead the people by their distorted and slanted explanations of the law and its nuances. The followers should also use their brains and not be misled by their partisan feelings and emotions.

Republic Act 1405, or the Bank Secrecy Law, is a very old piece, signed by President Ramon F. Magsaysay on September 9, 1955 when both the president (BBM was born on September 13, 1957) and the vice president (Sara Duterte, born on May 31, 1978) were not yet born. This law has only six sections. The letter and the spirit are clear and beyond doubt.

Its Section 1 states its philosophy: "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Government to give encouragement to the people to deposit their money in banking institutions and to discourage hoarding so that they may be properly utilized by banks in authorized loans to assist the economic development of the country."

The law provides in its Section 2 that that all posits of whatever nature with banks or banking institutions in the Philippines including investments in bonds issued by the Government of the Philippines, its political subdivisions and its instrumentalities, are hereby considered as of an absolutely confidential nature and may not be examined, inquired or looked into by any person, government official, bureau or office.

But there is an exception in Section 2 and it includes: "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." Thus, the Dutertes have no causes of action against the banking institutions and the Central Bank.

The law provides in its Section 3 that it shall be unlawful for any official or employee of a banking institution to disclose to any person other than those mentioned in Section two hereof any information concerning said deposits. The exceptions include impeachment cases. That was why the bank deposits of the late Chief Justice Corona were exposed.

The Bank Secrecy Law cannot be invoked when there are court orders in bribery/dereliction of duty, and when the deposit is the subject of litigation. Additional exceptions include AMLC investigations (money laundering/terrorism), BIR inquiries for deceased estate taxes, and unexplained wealth cases, as well as cases of bribery, dereliction of duty or when the deposit itself is the very subject of litigation.

Other major statutory exceptions to the Bank Secrecy Law include RA 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Law. In fact, the Anti-Money Laundering Council can legally inquire into bank deposits without a court order if there is a probable cause that they are related to certain unlawful activities like kidnapping, drug trafficking and, some people aver, also extra-judicial killing or summary executions, or terrorism and crimes against humanity.

More exceptions include the rule that the BIR Commissioner may inquire into bank deposits of certain taxpayers, even deceased ones, for real estate purposes or when a taxpayer has applied for a compromise of tax liability. Thus if and when the administrator of the Marcose Estate would move to compromise its tax liability, then all bank accounts of the Marcoses may be looked into by the proper courts or agencies. Yes, the sword of the law cuts both ways and hits both sides.

Another exception is the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or the Unexplained Wealth law, RA 1379, also enacted in 1955, authorizes the State to forfeit any money or property acquired by a public officer or employee that is "manifestly out of proportion" to their salary and lawful income, treating such assets as unlawfully acquired.

Let us elevate our national conversations from the levels of "argumentum ad absurdum" into a decent, objective and rational discourse of educated and dignified minds and consciences.