Lacson: Bank secrecy law should exclude public officials

MANILA, Philippines — All public servants from clerk to the President must be excluded from the “protection” of the Bank Secrecy Act to help curb corruption in the government, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.

Lacson said if the measure is passed, some government officials and employees, who enrich themselves while in office, would have difficulty hiding their ill-gotten money.

“Whether you are a janitor or clerk, all the way up to the President, you should not be protected by the Bank Secrecy Act,” Lacson said in an interview on One News.

Lacson lamented a provision of the Bank Secrecy Act (RA 1405) prohibiting the disclosure of or inquiry to bank deposits, which has been frequently exploited to “hamper and stall investigations” of government officials and employees suspected of enriching themselves while in public office.

Lacson said he has filed bills to exclude public servants from the Bank Secrecy Act’s protection provision in the last three Congresses, including Senate Bill 26 in the 18th Congress.

Unfortunately, Lacson said these bills were not passed.

“Once you enter government service, you should be excluded from the Bank Secrecy Act. Unfortunately, my bills to the effect were not passed,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lacson said women would get much better opportunities in holding key positions in the government as gender equality will be one of the highlights of his administration if he gets elected.

He said the key qualifications would still be performance, competence and integrity, regardless of gender.

“There are so many great women leaders not just here but around the world,” he said.

Lacson also cited studies indicating that all over the world, including the Philippines, men may be more prone to corruption than women.

As far as I’m concerned, I put a premium on competence, especially integrity,” said Lacson, who filed his certificate of candidacy for president on Wednesday.

He said the next leader would have to correct the systemic problems in many government agencies and financial
institutions.

He cited as examples the practices in PhilHealth, Government Service Insurance System and Social Security System, wherein members’ contributions are used as income to pay for items like representation expenses.

“That is one thing we have to change in terms of the management of these institutions,”he said.