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Friday, August 18, 2017
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MANILA – The Senate committee on banks will hold next week an inquiry into the allegation that Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Andres Bautista had ill-gotten wealth.
Committee chairman Francis Escudero confirmed this after Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III and Panfilo Lacson filed a resolution for the panel to look into the “possible violation” of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) by the Luzon Development Bank (LDB).
His estranged wife, Patricia Paz, alleged that the Comelec chairman owns more than 30 bank accounts containing P329 million. Based on his 2016 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), Bautista had a net worth of only P176.3 million.
Senate Resolution No. 468 stated that Bautista, under the AMLA, is considered a “politically exposed person” for holding a prominent public position.
It also cited a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) circular that states that covered institutions “shall specify criteria and description of the types of customers that are likely to pose low, normal or high money laundering/terrorist financing risk to their operations as well as the standards in applying reduced, average and enhanced due diligence.”
“In the case of LDB and the bank accounts of the Comelec chair, the compliance with the required due diligence must be studied and investigated,” the senators said.
“The splitting of accounts of the Comelec chair in one small thrift bank so as not to be under the radar of the Anti-Money Laundering Council likewise needs to be further looked into,” they added.
Officials from the LDB, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, the BSP, and the National Bureau of Investigation will be summoned, Escudero said.
“In the meantime, the committee hearing will simply be open to Chairman Bautista’s participation should he voluntarily want to, given his public pronouncements that he welcomes any probe to air his side and clear his name,” Escudero added.
Bautista has repeatedly denied the allegations of his estranged wife, claiming that there was an “orchestrated campaign” against him. (GMA News)
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