Court won’t lift subpoena to AMLC in Jinggoy Estrada case

Former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada. FILE PHOTO

The Sandiganbayan has rejected the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s (AMLC) request to lift the subpoena requiring it to submit various documents sought by detained  former Sen. Jinggoy Estrada to refute the pork barrel scam allegations.

The AMLC earlier told the antigraft court’s Fifth Division that it could not submit to the court certain items requested by Estrada, particularly the documents on the transactions of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, because of confidentiality and the possibility of legal violations.

Estrada had requested “any and all AMLC memoranda” on Napoles’ transactions, as well as memoranda which the AMLC said involved “purely internal members” on investigative techniques which are “immaterial and irrelevant” to his plunder case.

The court did not give weight to the AMLC’s invocation of confidentiality. It said this contention “does not inspire belief” and agreed with Estrada that the claim lacked basis.—VINCE F. NONATO