Bangko Sentral, AMLC auditors accessed Corona bank records – PSBank president

Purported bank records of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona that were supplied by the prosecution panel were accessed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), PSBank president Pascual Garcia III testified before the Senate impeachment court Monday. The impeachment court is trying to determine if the documents are indeed fake as testified by witness Annabelle Tiongson, manager of PSBank-Katipunan.   Bangko Sentral and AMLC conduct “regular audit” of PSBank, Garcia noted. The audit in question was from September to November 2010.   In his line of questioning witnesses during Monday’s hearing, Senate President and presiding officer Juan Ponce Enrile tried to determine who among PSBank officials and personnel accessed Corona’s bank records.   Was it possible that the record in question now, which the PSBank-Katipunan manager noted as “fake,” was accessed by the audit team of Bankgo Sentral and AMLA, particularly during the audits from September to November 2010? Enrile asked.   “I believe — at least — so… the specimen signature card,” Garcia replied.   Enrile also wanted to know if the “audit team of BSP and AMLC actually examined the records?”    “As far as signature cards are concerned, yes… they at least saw the signature card,” said Garcia.   He noted that the “Specimen signature card did not have the classification PEP.”   PEP stands for politically exposed persons. PEP is a tag required by AMLC and Bangko Sentral on accounts of elected public officials and senior government officers, Garcia said, noting the documents that came from prosecution did not have such a tag.   Garcia testified he was “not so certain” if the documents forwarded to BSP and AMLC can be photocopied, and that he “cannot recall” if the same agencies issued a receipt for the Corona bank records.   For the impeachment court to verify if Corona’s signature card submitted by prosecution is the same or a copy of the source document from PSBank, Enrile asked the bank president to bring the document to the court.   “The chair is ordering you to submit to this court the signature card of Chief Justice Renato Corona that according to you [was] submitted to the audit team of BSP and AMLA, when they conducted the audit,” said Enrile.   This will be compared with the document attached in prosecution’s supplemental request for subpoena, the senate president added.   Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali earlier claimed before the impeachment court that a ‘small lady’ handed him an envelope at the Senate premises containing a document with a lift of Corona’s bank peso and US dollar accounts with PSBank.   The supposed bank accounts on the document showed that Corona has $700,000 or roughly P30 millon.   However, PSBank-Katipunan's Tiongson said that the documents obtained by the prosecution panel were “fake.”     She noted that Quezon City Rep. Jorge “Bolet” Banal on Jan. 31 also asked for help regarding Corona’s bank documents. — VS, GMA News