Duterte wants bill lifting bank secrecy rules? Lip service, says Trillanes

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday branded as lip service the wish of President Rodrigo Duterte for legislation lifting bank secrecy for fraud cases.

“That's pure lip service! Ni ayaw nga pumirma ng waiver nung nabisto s'ya na may mahigit P2 billion sa bangko,” Trillanes said in a press statement referring to his challenge to Duterte to sign a waiver allowing the opening for scrutiny of his bank accounts.

In 2016, Trillanes accused Duterte of having billions of pesos in bank accounts.

“Sige lang, in time, once you're out of power, mailalabas na lahat yan at makikita na ng taongbayan kung gaano ka kakurakot,” the senator added.

Duterte signed Republic Act 11213 or Tax Amnesty Law but vetoed a provision which grants a general amnesty program for all unpaid internal revenue taxes including income tax, withholding tax, capital gains tax, donor's tax, value added tax, documentary stamp tax, other percentage taxes and excise taxes collected both by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs for taxable year 2017 and prior years. 

He asked Congress to pass another general tax amnesty bill that provides for the lifting of bank secrecy rules for fraud cases, the inclusion of automatic exchange of information and safeguards to ensure that asset or net worth declarations are truthful.

Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente Sotto III cannot say yet if he will push for another general tax amnesty bill.

“It depends. I think we should sit with the executive department first and agree on the parameters so we do not waste time and effort not to mention the money wasted on hearings and sessions that could have been spent for other agreeable legislations,” he said Tuesday when asked on the matter.

The Senate leader earlier blamed the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office for failing to relay to Congress the wishes of Malacañang resulting to the veto of bills already approved by the Senate and House of Representatives. —KG, GMA News