Sara Duterte's husband, Mans Carpio, files raps vs. AMLC, BSP, solons

Lawyer Mans Carpio, Vice President Sara Duterte's husband, filed a complaint against officials of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and several lawmakers following a report on their bank transactions at the House of Representatives.

Carpio filed the complaint at the Quezon City (QC) Prosecutor’s Office. He was accompanied by his legal counsel, Atty. Peter Paul Danao.

The respondents are AMLC Executive Director Ronel Buenaventura, BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr., House Justice panel chair Gerville Luistro, House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima, and Akbayan Party-List Representatives Percival Cendaña and Chel Diokno.

This is for alleged violation of the Bank Secrecy Law, the Data Privacy Act, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) as amended.

“Nasa batas naman po ‘yan… na sinasabing bawal maglabas ng kahit anumang impormasyon ang AMLC,” Danao said on Balitanghali.

(That’s under the law… that AMLC cannot release any information.)

He said there are no exceptions under Section 8(a) of the AMLA.

“Ang sinasabi doon, the AMLC shall not reveal any information, in any manner. Ibig sabihin, kahit anong paraan, hindi pwedeng ilabas ang impormasyon. Kung merong exception diyan, dapat sinabi sa batas, eh wala namang nakalagay na exception sa batas,” he said 

(What is being said there is that the AMLC shall not reveal any information, in any manner. That means in any way, the information cannot be released. If there is an exception to that, it should have been stated in the law, but there is no exception stated in the law.)

“Hindi naman porke't may accusation ka o meron kang hinanaing sa isang tao, pwede ka nang gumawa ng labag sa batas, pwede ka na gumawa ng illegal,” Danao said in an ambush interview.

(It is not that just because you have an accusation or a grievance against someone, you can already do something against the law, you can already do something illegal.)

Last week, during the House impeachment proceedings against Duterte, the AMLC reported that bank transactions totaling P6.7 billion—classified as covered and suspicious—were recorded under the names of the couple.

The AMLC also confirmed that at least 18 bank transactions linked to Duterte and her family members, as cited in the affidavit of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, match records of covered and suspicious transaction reports.

Asked why Trillanes was not among the respondents, Danao said that Trillanes’ remarks did not arise from the AMLC disclosure.

“So it’s a separate incident. We will confer with our client, of course, anong pupwedeng separate action against kay Mr. Trillanes,” he said.

According to Danao, they wrote to AMLC and told them that sharing such information was prohibited.

“Ang sinasabi namin ‘yung AMLC. Bawal maglabas ‘yung AMLC ng kahit anong impormasyon. Ngayon, kung gusto nila usisain ‘yung bank reports, bank information, meron namang paraan sa batas,” he said.

(What we are saying is about the AMLC. The AMLC is prohibited from releasing any information. Now, if they want to examine bank reports or bank information, there are legal ways to do it.)

“Pero ‘yung sinasabi namin, ‘yung AMLC mismo, hindi pwedeng maglabas ng kahit anong impormasyon na nakuha nila galing sa mga bangko,” he added.

(But what we are saying is that the AMLC itself cannot release any information that it obtained from banks.)

Danao said Carpio also “vehemently denies” the P6.7 billion bank transactions. 

“Noong nag-usap kami (Carpio), talagang dine-deny niya ‘yung sinasabing P3 billion o P6 billion daw na may laman doon sa accounts niya. Wala siyang ganoong pera,” Danao said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview earlier in the day.

(When my client and I talked, he really denied that there was P3 billion or P6 billion in his accounts. He doesn't have that kind of money.) 

For her part, Duterte’s defense team previously questioned how the data was presented before the House Justice panel, claiming the figure appeared “bloated” because it was an aggregation of transactions spanning years.

Meanwhile, Danao said they will answer the allegations once they see the records.

“Parang mahirap yata mag comment sa isang bagay na hindi mo naman ,ikaw mismo, nakita. Pero kapag nakita namin ‘yan, eh sa tamang panahon, tamang paaran, aming saagutin,” he said.

(It seems difficult to comment on something that you yourself have not seen. But if we do see it, then at the right time and in the proper manner, we will respond.)

In a statement, the BSP said Remolona will respond appropriately upon receipt of the complaint.

“We emphasize that the BSP and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) continue to perform their mandates in accordance with law, guided by independence, professionalism, and due process,” it said.

De Lima, for her part, said it is Carpio's right to file a complaint.

"We will wait for the official copy of the complaint once it is filed to study it thoroughly and discuss it with my lawyers. But, as far as the House committee on justice is concerned, the proceedings cannot be considered violative of any law," she said in a statement.

She added cases of impeachment, being sui generis, are not covered by the prohibition under the Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law. She further said Republic Act (RA) No. 9160 or the Anti-Money Laundering Act "embodies the State’s more recent and specific policy that financial secrecy cannot be used to conceal unlawful activity."

De Lima said under this law, covered institutions – most notably banks – are required to report suspicious transactions to the AMLC, and such reporting is expressly declared as not violative of the Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law.

"The fact that evidence of ill-gotten wealth was exposed in the course of the impeachment proceedings does not make such exposure criminal. It is a direct consequence of impeachment as an accountability mechanism," she added.

Just like De Lima, Cendaña believed the House panel members and AMLC did not violate the law.

"Mas malinaw pa sa tanghaling tapat na Exception ang impeachment hearings sa coverage ng Bank Secrecy Law at Anti-Money Laundering Act. Nabisto kasi. Ganoon naman ang modus ng mga Duterte, pag nahuli, takbo sa korte," he said.

"Pero advice ko sa kampo ni VP Sara, imbes na mag-aksaya sila ng papel at oras sa pagsasampa ng mga kaso humarap na lang si VP Sara sa April 29 sa Committee on Justice hearing. Doon siya magpaliwanag," he added.

Asked about the matter, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said it is Carpio's right to file a case.

''Karapatan po ninuman  na magsampa ng kaso. Ang tanong lamang po, kung ito ay magpo-prosper. So hindi na po hawak ng Palasyo at ng Pangulo kung ano ang magiging desisyon ng korte,'' Castro said in a separate press briefing.

(It's everyone's right to file a case. The only question is if it will prosper. So it's no longer in the hands of the Palace and the President.) 

''Ang mga korte po natin, ang mga judges natin, pati justices ay matatalino. So, alam po nila kung ano ang dapat na gamiting batas at papaano ito madidismiss o magkakaroon ng progress,'' she added.

(Our courts and our judges are clever. They will know how cases will not be dismissed and if these will prosper.)  —AOL, GMA News