A Philippine senator wants to amend the country’s Bank Secrecy Law to give authorities more powers to investigate suspected financial crimes.
Senator Jinggoy Estrada is promoting Senate Bill No. 1047, which would introduce exceptions to the existing law that would allow the country’s central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the court system to look at suspicious bank accounts linked to bribery, fraud, and other serious offenses.
Under the bill, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas would be allowed to investigate bank deposits if there is a reasonable basis to believe that unlawful activities have occurred. That would require authorization from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Monetary Board and would be limited strictly to official purposes.
