INQUIRER.net
Senate minority floor leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday
challenged all government officials to sign a waiver opening up their
bank accounts.
Cayetano said that the waiver should be amended into the Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) Law.
“I have appealed and I am appealing to [President Benigno Aquino
III], ask your Cabinet members to start by signing a waiver opening up
their bank accounts to the Ombudsman, for example,” Cayetano said.
Chief Justice Renato Corona, in his testimony Tuesday, signed a
waiver allowing the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
to probe his bank accounts and business interest. But he said he will
only submit it if the 188 lawmakers who signed the impeachment complaint
against him and Senator Franklin Drilon will sign a similar waiver.
Prosecutors and Drilon said Tuesday that they have no intention of
signing a waiver because it was not related to the impeachment trial.
“I believe it’s a valid issue, but the timing was not right,” Cayetano said.
“Perhaps after [the impeachment court renders] a decision, all
government officials should sign a waiver to show that it’s not true
[the government] was only going after the enemies of [President Benigno
Aquino III],” Cayetano added.
‘Tuwid na daan’
He said that the waiver for government officials to open all bank
accounts was “the next logical step in the “tuwid na daan” (straight
path) campaign of President Aquino, since there was already the Anti-Red
Tape Law, the Freedom of Information bill, and the impeachment trial of
the Chief Justice.
Cayetano agreed that the waiver would “muddle the issue” if it was
done during the impeachment trial “but right after this impeachment
case, if [government officials] are not hiding anything, what is wrong
with signing a waiver?”
Cayetano said that when he challenged former First Gentleman Jose
Miguel Arroyo to open up his bank accounts, he did it first and without
condition, unlike Corona who would only sign his waiver with the
condition that the 189 others would do it first.
Part of his proposed amendment to the SALN law was to include bank account records in the waiver of the SALN.
“The banking system will not be ruined if a small elite group, let’s
say from the Office of the Ombudsman or it can be a composite group in
[the Anti-Money Laundering Council], that will also look into these bank
accounts,” Cayetano said.
Waiver challenge snow balls
Meanwhile, a Catholic school official and some bishops also supported
the challenge to government officials to open up their bank account
records.
Fr. Ranhilio C. Aquino, chair of Jurisprudence and Legal Philosophy
of the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA) and Dean, Graduate School of
law, San Beda College , said those who accused Corona of not disclosing
bank records must also show that they are not guilty of committing the
same offense, otherwise it is hypocritical, said.
“There is a condition, those who accused him (the Chief Justice) of
not disclosing his bank records should come to court with clean hands,”
Aquino said.
“That’s a principle of equity. He who comes into equity must come
with clean hands. They have to make sure that they are not guilty of
non-disclosure, otherwise it is hypocritical,” he added.
During Wednesday’s impeachment trial, lead prosecutor Niel Tupas said
they will not sign the waiver. The prosecutors added that they have
nothing to hide and their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth
will be available after the impeachment trial.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said government officials should take Corona’s challenge and sign a waiver .
“Those accusing him should also set the example by disclosing their
dollar accounts,” Pabillo told church-run Radio Veritas Wednesday.
“That’s why the challenge of the Chief Justice is good for other
lawmakers to show their assets.”
“There is really something wrong when they want a person to disclose
his dollar accounts but his accusers refuse to do the same or don’t want
to be transparent,” he said.
Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said government officials accepting
Corona’s challenge would erase doubt on every public servant’s
credibility.
“The nation will benefit a lot if they will sign a waiver,” Arguelles told the CBCP news.
Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz said Corona’s dare “is but a statement
that those accusing him of dishonesty in making his SALN are dishonest
themselves.”
“That’s why the basis of this is let us know who have no sin and throw the first stone. That’s the message,” Cruz said.
3 Lawmakers bite Corona ‘waiver’ challenge
Despite being brushed off as a publicity stunt by Senator Franklin
Drilon and members of the House prosecution, three of the 188 lawmakers
who signed the impeachment complaint are willing to take on Chief
Justice Renato Corona’s dare to sign a waiver on their bank deposits.
Pangasinan Representative Kimi Cojuangco, ACT Teachers Representative
Antonio Tinio, and Kalinga party-list Representative Abigail Faye
Ferriol said that they were willing to take on Corona’s challenge,
stressing that they have nothing to hide.
Even members of the minority bloc stepped up to the chief magistrate’s condition for signing his waiver.
Minority Leader Danilo Suarez, however, said they were willing to
open their bank accounts if the 188 lawmakers and Drilon would do so.
Drilon and the members of the House prosecution team have already
told the impeachment court that they had no plans of signing their
waivers.
