Alan sees similarities in deals

SEN. ALAN Peter Cayetano on Wednesday drew a parallel between the alleged money-laundering schemes involving Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) and Vice President Jejomar Binay.

“The similarities are extreme. Like Binay’s ill-gotten wealth, the same bank is involved on both cases. Both involved dummy accounts. And unscrupulous people are hiding behind the same banking law. The only difference is, Binay doesn’t need hackers to amass ill-gotten wealth,” said Cayetano, an independent candidate for Vice President in the May elections.

In a statement, Cayetano cited an Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report which said Gerardo Limlingan, an alleged dummy of Binay, had transactions with RCBC amounting to P3.1 billion.

He said Limlingan’s transactions alone were equivalent to $68.1 million, or just $12.6 million short of the $81 million allegedly stolen from Bangladesh Bank’s current account in the United States.

The one-page portion of the report Cayetano distributed to the media showed that Limlingan had one transaction of P2 billion, and two transactions of P500 million through RCBC, the same bank involved in the ongoing Senate probe.

“I hope the government has the same enthusiasm in holding the Vice President and his accomplices accountable for stealing from Filipinos as it now has in probing the $81-million money-laundering scheme,” said Cayetano, the independent running mate of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the presidential candidate of PDP-Laban.

Cayetano and Duterte have challenged their fellow candidates to open their bank accounts for public scrutiny, having signed bank secrecy waivers themselves on Friday.

The administration’s presidential candidate, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, has announced his willingness to open his bank accounts.

Cayetano welcomed Roxas’ statement but urged him to prove his sincerity by immediately signing the manifesto he and Duterte had prepared pledging to open all bank accounts in local and foreign currencies, both here and abroad.

“I’m glad that the administration is finally with me on this issue,” Cayetano said, noting that since 2007 when he scrutinized the bank accounts of then first gentlemen Mike Arroyo, he already called for the lifting of the bank secrecy provisions of the bank secrecy law for public officials.

The budget watchdog group, Social Watch Philippines, has thrown its support behind the tandem’s proposal.

In a radio interview, Social Watch Philippines convenor, UP professor Leonor Briones, said the initiative was “a big step” to fight corruption in government agencies.