Sen. Estrada files bill amending law on foreign currency deposits

MANILA, Philippines – Senator President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada on Tuesday said that he has filed a bill amending the law on foreign currency deposits in the country.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

In a statement, Estrada said that he filed the bill on Monday in light of the recent developments in the impeachment trial against Chief Justice Renato Corona, adding that Republic Act 6426 otherwise known as “An Act Instituting a Foreign Currency Deposit System in the Philippines” was “being used as an excuse and as a refuge to hide alleged illegally acquired wealth of public officials and employees.”

The amendment on RA 6426 filed by Estrada under Senate Bill 3120 sought to exempt from the confidentiality clause of the law the “order of an impeachment court or any competent court on cases involving public officials charged with the violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.”

It requires that “probable cause be established that the foreign currency deposit involved is directly related to the cause of action in the complaint.”

RA 6426 was approved on April 1974.