SC dissent: Phl a safer haven for loot than Swiss banks

MANILA, Philippines - The law guaranteeing the secrecy of foreign currency deposits should not turn the country into a haven for ill-gotten wealth, according to Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.

This was among Carpio’s arguments in his dissent in the SC’s issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the opening of the dollar accounts of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Carpio said the majority decision to issue the TRO is a mockery of all existing laws.

“The world will now know that Philippine foreign currency deposit accounts provide a much better safe haven for ill-gotten wealth than Swiss bank accounts,” he said.

Carpio said Republic Act 6426, the Foreign Currency Deposit Act, intended to protect nonresidents to encourage the inflow of foreign currency deposits in Philippine banks.

“What the majority has ruled is that government officials and employees have no obligation to disclose their foreign currency accounts, and that the public has no right to know such foreign currency accounts,” he said.

Carpio said government officials and employees can simply open foreign currency accounts and deposit money to avoid scrutiny.

Since Corona had already admitted that he owns the foreign currency accounts in Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank), he now has the obligation to disclose these foreign currency deposits to the people, he added.

In a separate dissenting opinion, Associate Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno said PSBank should have not been entitled to the injunctive relief since its petition was based on “mere news report, exaggerated theories of a possible bank run, or stubborn fears of culpability.”

“Granting the prayer of petitioners for injunctive relief is tantamount to endorsing their position on absolute confidentiality, so much so that higher values, such as public accountability, cannot even be considered as a valid exception to the said privilege,” she said.

The TRO would result in “an iniquitous situation, where the supreme interest of the public to maintain accountability among public officers is relegated to the sidelines in favor of a statutory privilege that arose purely out of economic considerations,” Sereno said.

Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Mariano del Castillo and Estela Perlas-Bernabe concurred in this position.

Those who voted for the TRO were Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion, Lucas Bersamin, Roberto Abad, Martin Villarama Jr., Jose Mendoza, Jose Perez and Bienvenido Reyes.

Chief Justice Corona inhibited from the deliberations, being the subject of the case.

Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. also took no part in the voting since his son Lord Allan was among the lawmakers who signed the impeachment complaint against Corona.

The court granted the prayer of PSBank and its president Pascual Garcia III invoking the provision on absolute confidentiality of foreign currency deposits under the RA 6426, which bars any inquiry or examination as to the details of such foreign currency accounts.