Benhur Luy bank accounts’ opening OKd

Benhur Luy. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The Sandiganbayan has upheld its previous ruling allowing the opening of the bank accounts, travel history and real property records of the three whistle-blowers in the plunder charges against Sen. Jinggoy Estrada who is accused of diverting for his own use his congressional pork barrel allotments, in what is now known as the P10-billion pork barrel scam case.

In a resolution dated Oct. 17, the antigraft court’s Fifth Division allowed with finality the subpoena and scrutiny of all the accounts and other assets, real property and vehicle records, and travel history of Benhur Luy, Marina Sula and Merlina Suñas and denied the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration and recall of subpoena which the court had earlier issued.

State prosecutors tried to block the subpoena, saying it was unnecessary as the whistle-blowers were not even named as defendants in the case and that doing so would violate bank secrecy laws.

They said there was no allegation whatsoever that the three received any part of the ill-gotten wealth allegedly amassed by Estrada.

The court said that while it agreed with the prosecution that the depositors-witnesses are not the accused in the case, the monies of the depositors-witnesses in the bank accounts subject of the subpoena can be considered as subject matter of the litigation.