The proposal of a neophyte congressman to exempt public officials and employees from absolute confidentiality of bank deposits is a laudable move that should be in the high priority for legislation. That is in an ideal situation when we have enough lawmakers who are committed to genuine public service.
The intent of House Bill 4060, authored by Quezon City Rep. Juan Carlos “Arjo” Atayde, is not new. The late Rep. Herminio Teves of Negros Oriental had sponsored similar measures during his stint at the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007. Former senator Panfilo Lacson did the same thing in the previous congresses.
If seasoned politicians had failed to steer the legislative mill to have their “pet” measures for transparency and good governance enacted, it would be a challenge for a first-time legislator to convince his colleagues that it is high time for the measure to become law.
The bill seeks to amend Republic Act (RA) 1405, a 1955 law exempting public officials and employees from the prohibition against disclosure of or inquiry into deposits with any banking institution.
Atayde anchored his proposed reform measure on the constitutional principle that “public office is a public trust” and that “public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice and lead modest lives.”
Given this principle, the actor-turned-politician said public office “must not be used for self-aggrandizement or for acquiring wealth by a person holding it.” He went further to define a public officer as a steward “who must perform his powers and duties for the benefit of the people and not for the enhancement of his own interest.”
Indeed, public service requires personal sacrifices. Public servants are expected to adhere to ethical standards. However, these are more often set aside or completely ignored, particularly by those who run for public office for power and influence.
To many, government and politics are about power, and power is money. It is only during political campaigning that candidates speak about public service as a commitment to help the people. Once they get elected, the people they have sworn to serve are left waiting to be served; they even have to spend hours lining up for alms.
Atayde’s proposal is just one of several measures needed to restore public trust in government. It is in keeping with the ideals of good governance in public service, ridding the bureaucracy of crooks.
Because the reform is intended to equip law enforcement authorities with the tools necessary to investigate and go after the crooks, it should apply more strictly to those in the law enforcement agencies.
At present, the 1955 law is still in effect. It treats all deposits “of whatever nature with banks or banking institutions,” including investments in government-issued bonds, as “absolutely confidential” and “may not be examined, inquired or looked into by any person, government official, bureau or office, except upon written permission of the depositor, or in cases of impeachment, or upon order of a competent court in cases of bribery or dereliction of duty of public officials, or in cases where the money deposited or invested is the subject matter of the litigation.”
The law penalizes with a jail term and fine any bank official or employee who discloses any information about bank deposits of another person.
When RA 1405 was enacted 67 years ago, it was intended to encourage people to deposit their money in banks and discourage private hoarding so that financial institutions could use the money for loans for the country’s economic development.
The bank secrecy provision became an issue during the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte when then senator Antonio Trillanes IV accused him of having hidden wealth in the form of bank deposits. Duterte had refused to sign a waiver that would open his bank records to an inquiry.
But in his final year in office in 2021, Duterte included a bank deposits secrecy bill in the legislative agenda that he wanted Congress to pass. The bill would have given the Bangko Sentral increased investigative powers, making it easier to examine suspicious bank accounts and impose heavy penalties. The bill did not hurdle the legislative mill.
Attempts in previous administrations to lift the bank secrecy law had been unsuccessful because legislators raise fears about breaches of privacy or the possibility that it could be used to harass political opponents. Their fears may be real, or they are reluctant to pass a law that will hit many of them.
To convince his colleagues to support his measure, perhaps Atayde should set a good example by opening his bank records to legitimate inquiries. He should also be transparent in his other financial dealings, such as the sources of his campaign funds in the last election.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
This column also appeared in The Manila Times.