ON two aspects of our social lives, Filipinos are actually behind other countries, but these can be remedied by immediate legislation.
One is the issue of divorce. It is said that only two countries/states in the world consider divorce as illegal: the Philippines and Vatican City. But divorce is an explosive, highly divisive topic with many argumentative twists and turns, and necessitates another long discussion.
The second is the secrecy of bank accounts. The Duterte administration’s economic team and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) are pushing for amendments to Republic Act No. 1405, the Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law. They said the Philippines is the last country in the globe that still has such a stringent law.
‘We look forward to a revised law that will play a pivotal role in the country’s efforts to attain economic recovery even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic…’
The rationale of this move is to enable the BSP to widen its supervisory power over banks and to help the government run after grafters and individuals or institutions involved in lucrative money-laundering activities. Since money laundering both involves economic and security matters, as terrorists need to transfer huge amounts of cash from abroad or locally to operate, the easing of restrictions on bank secrecy is doubly important.
BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno stressed that the amendments to RA 1405 will give the central bank much-needed tools necessary to “prove the commission of fraud, serious irregularity or unlawful activity if reasonable basis exists.”
He added that this will allow the BSP to effectively fulfill its mandate and enable it to have a holistic examination of a banking institution so that certain risk areas will be considered in assessing a bank’s financial condition, risk management and corporate governance. He proposed that results of an inquiry be for the exclusive use of the BSP and will be shared only with the courts or other regulators as a requirement to prosecute an offense.
The three proposals to amend RA No. 1405 should be quickly processed in the two houses of Congress, preferably to arrive at just one measure that incorporates all the best features of the proposals, as President Duterte has included this piece of legislation as among his priorities.
We look forward to a revised law that will play a pivotal role in the country’s efforts to attain economic recovery even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it will enable the country to comply with international standards on transparency that will also bolster the public and the global community’s trust in the domestic banking system.
