CA freezes P1B ARMM funds; regional gov’t caught by surprise

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — After freezing the assets believed owned by the Ampatuan clan of Maguindanao, the Court of Appeals has ordered four banks to withhold the release of around P1 billion in public funds intended by the national government for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

In its resolution on June 6, the appeals court ruled to restrain four depository banks of the ARMM from allowing the regional government to encash checks issued by the regional government, said lawyer Dionisio Jimenez, the Court of Appeals second division clerk of court.

ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo said the ARMM government was caught flat-footed by the CA resolution, which stemmed from a case filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLA) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas against the Ampatuans.

The CA “Notice of Order” named “Andal Ampatuan Sr., Bai Laila Ampatuan and Andal Ampatuan Sr., et al” as respondents in the AMLA petition.

But the same petition also sought the freezing of close to P1 billion in government funds contained in the ARMM government’s MDS (Modified Disbursement System) account, which are deposited with the Cotabato City Branch of the Land Bank of the Philippines.

The court has ordered three more banks in Makati City to withhold ARMM funds— the Legazpi branch of the Allied Banking Corporation, the Banco de Oro branch along Makati Avenue, and the Bank of Philippine Islands, also along Ayala Avenue.

LBP officials are saying Current Account No. 2037900839 belongs to the Office of the Regional Governor of the ARMM and does not bear identity of any individual surnamed Ampatuan.

Sinarimbo said the court’s freeze order would practically paralyze the operations of the region.

The order covers the freezing of the entire ARMM banking account under its MDS funds for salaries, maintenance and operations and project outlay, according to Sinarimbo.

“Around P 400,000 in salaries of teachers alone would be affected, and they would not be paid their salaries in effect,” Sinarimbo said.

Sinarimbo said the government should be “circumspect with such a move that would affect the entire constituency of the region.”

“How could they fail to distinguish the MDS account of the ARMM from the banking account of the Ampatuans?” ARMM information director Ali Macabalang asked.

He said the order has halted at least the basic government operations for education with the current start of classes, as well as health and social services for Muslim communities.

“This would certainly deprive everyone in the Muslim communities,” Macabalang lamented.

Earlier, the court froze the assets of the Ampatuans, but the AMLA had reportedly not immediately established a paper trail of banking transactions traceable to the principal respondents.

Sinarimbo said the ARMM government would immediately appeal the CA ruling.

Members of the Ampatuan clan, including former ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, have been implicated in the November 23, 2009 massacre of 57 people, mostly media workers, in Maguindanao. The victims were on their way to file the certificate of candidacy of now Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu at the Commission on Elections office in Maguindanao when waylaid by the alleged militiamen of the Ampatuans.