Sandigan junks Jinggoy plea to suppress AMLC report

MANILA, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan has denied detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s motion seeking to stop Ombudsman prosecutors from using an Anti-Money laundering Council (AMLC) report as evidence in the plunder case against him in connection with the pork barrel scam.

In a three-page ruling issued yesterday, the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division, chaired by Associate Justice Roland Jurado, junked the pleading for lack of merit.

Estrada, who is currently detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center and is asking for bail, is expected to file a motion for reconsideration.

His lawyers maintain that the AMLC circumvented the legal process in its inquiry into Estrada’s bank accounts and its report must be kept out of the records of the case in the ongoing bail hearings.

The Sandiganbayan, however, said the confidentiality provisions Estrada alluded to do not apply to plunder cases but only to proceedings of civil forfeiture, asset preservation and freezing of monetary instrument or property.

Estrada said he was not notified of the AMLC’s examination of his bank accounts and the inquiry was done before the enactment of Republic Act 10167, which amends the anti-money laundering law by allowing the AMLC to look into bank deposits without notifying their owners.