Duterte, Cayetano want bank secrecy law lifted

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. GERMELINA LACORTE/INQUIRER MINDANAO FILE PHOTO

Senate Majority Floor Leader and vice presidential candidate Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday said he and running mate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte are strongly pushing for the lifting of the bank secrecy law to prevent public officials from amassing billions in stolen wealth from the government coffers.

“In the Philippines, when you steal a small amount, you will land in jail; when you rob the country by a huge sum, you get elected as senator or vice president,” Cayetano said, taking a swipe at his rival Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. whose family has reportedly retained in its possession the ill-gotten wealth it has accumulated during martial law and Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is facing a string of corruption and plunder charges.

The country’s bank secrecy law, which is among the strictest in the world, has become a major stumbling block in resolving many corruption and money laundering cases in the public sector, Cayetano said.

“Public officials like the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and Vice President Jejomar Binay can easily dip their hands on the nation’s coffers because somehow, our legal system allowed them to conceal their true wealth through dummy accounts,” Cayetano said.

“Bolder solutions are needed to end this disorder,” he said.