Mans Carpio readies raps vs BSP, AMLC, House over bank secrecy, privacy breaches

The husband of Vice President Sara Duterte, vowed to file a criminal complaint on Monday against officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and members of the House Committee on Justice for alleged violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), bank secrecy laws, and the Data Privacy Act.

In a statement on Sunday, Atty. Manases “Mans” Carpio's legal team said BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr., AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, and House justice committee members Reps. Gerville Luistro, Percival Cendaña, Chel Diokno, and Leila De Lima allegedly disclosed confidential banking records.

Carpio's lawyers said these records are protected under the AMLA, the Bank Secrecy Law, and the Data Privacy Act.

“Carpio said he was constrained to seek legal action in defense not only of his wife and the Duterte family, but also of the banking and financial community, especially the unwary general public,” the statement read.

The Vice President's husband argued that under the AMLA, the confidentiality of bank records is “absolute and without exception” to ensure the security, stability, and integrity of the financial system.

“Congress itself enacted Section 8A of the AMLA prohibiting disclosure in any manner of any reports of banks submitted to the AMLC,” Carpio said.

“There is no exception. The prohibition is absolute. That is what Congress enacted to preserve full security against any disclosure of information or records obtained by the AMLC,” he added.

He further alleged that the AMLC and the House Committee on Justice leaked private transaction records, including insurance payments, time deposits, investments, and utility bill payments.

Carpio claimed the alleged leak was used for “black propaganda and political harassment” rather than legitimate regulatory action.

“AMLA is being weaponized to the max, even if illegal and contrary to law, for pure black propaganda with a view to the 2028 national election,” he said.

In February, Duterte declared her intention to seek the presidency in 2028.

In a separate statement, De Lima said she would wait for a copy of the complaint before commenting further.

However, she maintained that the House inquiry would continue.

“As far as the House Committee on Justice is concerned, the proceedings cannot be considered violative of any law. Impeachment proceedings, being sui generis, are not covered by the prohibition under the Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law,” De Lima said.

She added that the panel is conducting hearings to determine probable cause based on validly initiated complaints referred by the House.

De Lima also clarified that the committee subpoenaed records of suspicious and covered transactions involving Duterte and Carpio—not the bank accounts themselves.

GMA News Online has sought comment from the other respondents and will update this story once a response is received.

Earlier, the AMLC reported that bank transactions totaling P6.7 billion—classified as covered and suspicious—were recorded under the names of Duterte and Carpio.

Documents submitted to the House panel include covered and suspicious transaction reports from 2006 to 2025, as well as financial intelligence reports on the Vice President, her husband, and other individuals.

Of the total, P3.7 billion was attributed to Duterte, while P2.998 billion was linked to Carpio. The report also cited P791 million in transactions with undetermined inflows and outflows.—MCG, GMA News