Binay-linked law firm asks SC to stop AMLC bank probe

A law firm connected to the Binay family has asked the Supreme Court to stop the Anti-Money Laundering Council from examining its bank accounts without notice.

In an 44-page petition, Subido Pagente Certeza Mendoza & Binay Law Offices (SPCMB Law) said AMLC’s "blanket authority" to examine the company’s bank accounts was "clearly intended to aid a mere fishing expedition."

The law firm was among the entities that the AMLC wanted to probe after being linked to Binay-related controversies.

"Without any notice that his bank account is being actually examined by the government in order to fish for incriminating evidence, the aggrieved party is being unconstitutionally deprived of his right to due process as well as his right to take the appropriate legal course of action necessary to protect his interests,” read SPCMB’s plea, a copy of which the Supreme Court released to the media on Friday.

The law firm asked the SC to immediately issue a temporary restraining order or a writ of preliminary injunction.

The law firm refused to give copies of its petition to the media, citing the sub judice rule (“under judgment"), which prevents parties in a case from making public pronouncements on the merits of a pending case.

Firm: Respect bank secrecy

Instead, the law firm issued a reminder: “For those who wish to publish matters regarding the purported bank examinations or information in relation thereto, please be advised of the penal sanctions on breach of confidentiality under Republic Act 9160,” or the Anti Money Laundering Act of 2001.

In its petition, the firm claimed the AMLC examination violated its right to due process, privacy, and the attorney-client privilege that is “sacrosanct in the legal profession."

SPCMB said absolute confidentiality of bank deposits remains the general rule and basic state policy in the Philippines, “except in very limited situations."

SPCMB said it had tried securing copies of pleadings and orders related to the AMLC’s application for bank examination filed with the Court of Appeals last February, but the appeals court denied the request on the ground of confidentiality. The following month, the CA granted AMLC’s application for bank examination.

The firm said there is no law prohibiting the CA from disclosing the proceedings to the SPCMB and allowing it to intervene.

The law firm asked the SC to strike down Section 11 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act that allows an ex parte application — or without the other party's consent or knowledge — for examination of bank accounts, saying rules of “fair play,” as well as the right to notice and right to be heard must always prevail.

'Political persecution'

The law firm insisted it had not been impleaded in any complaint involving any predicate crime that would justify an inquiry into its bank accounts.

“The examination of the petitioner’s bank accounts is a form of political persecution or harassment,” read the petition.

The law firm said its bank accounts cannot be examined “on the pretext that one partner of petitioner SPCMB Law is a daughter of a person who is being accused of plunder, and that another partner stands as legal counsel for another person who is an alleged ‘dummy’ for said accused.”

The daughter being referred to is Vice President Jejomar Binay’s daughter Makati Rep. Mar-Len Abigail Binay, who was a former partner in the law firm.

The “dummy”  being referred to is businessman Antonio Tiu, who was tagged as a "dummy" of the vice president in the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee probe on the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall Building II. — JDS, GMA News