Binay lawyer decries freeze order as ‘defective,’ ‘harassment’

Binay family counsel Atty. JV Bautista on Wednesday decried the freeze order against Vice President Jejomar Binay’s P600-million worth of bank accounts as a “form of political harassment.”

In an interview with Radyo Inquirer, Bautista said there may be “certain people behind” the supposedly confidential order.

“Maybe this freeze order is another form of political harassment. We are wondering why it reached the media, because such proceedings are confidential in nature,” he said.

The freeze order on Binay’s assets came on Monday after the Court of Appeals granted the petition by the Anti-Money Laundering Council in connection to investigations being conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman on the alleged overpriced Makati City Hall Building II and the Makati Science High School.

The court granted AMLC’s petition after it found “probable cause to believe that the individual and joint bank accounts of investments made by, and insurance policies issued” to Binay, his son and associates were “related to unlawful activities.”

READ: Court freezes Binay assets

Bautista also tagged the freeze order as “defective,” saying that the AMLC has to file a case against Binay within six months, the validity of the ex parte petition. He then argued that a criminal case cannot be filed against Binay because of his immunity from suit as vice president.

“This means that the freeze order is nonsense. In the first place, a criminal suit can’t be filed against him,” Bautista said. “The law will grant him the right to file a motion to lift the freeze and that will be our next step, because the freeze order by the Court of Appeals against VP Binay is defective.”

Bautista also cited Section 15 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) which states that “this act shall not be used for political persecution or harassment or as an instrument to hamper competition in trade and commerce. No case for money laundering may be filed against and no assets shall be frozen, attached or forfeited to the prejudice of a candidate for an electoral office during an election period.”

Aware that Binay is not yet an official candidate for electoral office, and that the freeze order was issued not during an election period, Bautista insisted that the “spirit of the law” is still present.

“If a criminal case can’t be filed versus VP Binay, then it appears that the freeze order is a form of political harassment, and that is prohibited under the AMLA,” he asserted.

Bautista said the Binay camp will make their next move in the coming days.

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