Senate defers contempt motion vs BSP examiner

BSP Bank Examiner Jerry Leal. MATIKAS SANTOS/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate held in abeyance a motion to cite an examiner of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for contempt for lack of “conclusive proof” that he was the source of the alleged “leaked” bank documents of Chief Justice Renato Corona, Senator Serge Osmena said Thursday.

BSP examiner Jerry Leal repeatedly denied during last week’s hearing that he was the source of the documents used by the prosecution team to request a subpoena on bank officials and records pertaining to Corona’s alleged accounts with the Philippine Savings Bank, prompting Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile moved to cite Leal for contempt.

But Senator Serge Osmena III, chairman of the committee on banks, said he found no “conclusive proof” that the examiner was indeed the source of the leak.

“My report to the Senate during a caucus is that I dot have conclusive proof that he [Leal] lied and that he was the source of the leak,” Osmena told reporters on Thursday.

“I can’t hold somebody in contempt if I don’t have a high dregree of proof na sya ang [that he is the] source of leak. Kawawa naman [What a pity],” he said.

Osmena pointed out that even the Chief Justice claimed that the leak came from the PS Bank.

“So conflicting yun sa Leal accusation,” said the senator.

Nevertheless, Osmena said he would recommend that the issue should be better investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation.

“I’d like to invite the NBI to come in and investigate this because hindi naman kaya ng Senado yan, hindi kaya ng committee. We don’t have the facilities, expertise, the manpower to look into this fully. And NBI does so let’s use the NBI,” he said.

Osmena said his recommendation has yet to be approved by the committee.