Defense won’t ask impeach court to summon AMLC chief—solons

Majority Leader Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Lawmakers believe that the defense panel will not ask the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, to summon Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) chief Vicente Aquino because it will be damaging to embattled Chief Justice Renato Corona if the AMLC executive backs the Ombudsman’s testimony.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, House of Representatives Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II likened Aquino’s possible confirmation of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales’ testimony to a “nuclear bomb” for the defense panel.

“I don’t believe matatawag ng defense ang [the defense will call the] AMLC chief,” he said, pointing out that the senator-judges can summon Aquino to the trial.

“Kung nabigla sila kay Ombudsman, talagang pag-ininform (yun ng) AMLC ay parang nuclear bomb na sasabog sa mukha nila [If they were surprised by the Ombudsman, any information coming from the AMLC will be like a nuclear bomb that will explode in their faces].”

Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo Angara, one of the spokesmen for the prosecution team, supported Gonzales’ statement and maintained that it would be to the defense’s disadvantage if Aquino would reinforce what Morales told the impeachment tribunal.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., meanwhile, defended AMLC as an agency tasked to keep an eye for suspicious bank transactions, saying that it is”part of a big network all over the world [and that he has] never heard anybody impugning the AMLC.”

Instead of summoning the AMLC chief to the proceedings, Gonzales said that what was more important and “indispensible ay dapat magtestify si CJ [is for CJ to testify]. Magsalita siya at iexplain ang laman ng report ni [He should speak out an explain the report of] Ombudsman Morales.”

How Corona would fare once he appeared before the court would determine whether the prosecution team would go through with their rebuttal, he said.