VP Binay dares rivals to sign this waiver of bank secrecy rights

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Monday urged his rival presidential candidates to open their bank accounts and that of their family members for scrutiny of the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

In a press conference in Cebu City, Binay said he already signed a waiver for the purpose and he asked his rivals to do the same.

“Hinihimok ko sila na kami ay magkaisa na pumirma sa isang general waiver na ganito.... Kasama dito ‘yong accounts ng asawa, kung may asawa, my children’s name, and my children’s children’s names,” the Vice President said.

“Isa sa mga dokumento ko pong dala-dala dito ay pinirmahan ko na po ito (bank waiver),” he said.

Davao City Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano signed on March 14 a similar waiver of their rights to bank secrecy, allowing their bank accounts to be opened in the spirit of transparency and accountability.

Binay said the waiver would authorize AMLC or its representative to “open and check all bank accounts under my name, under my spouse's name, my children's name and my children’s children’s name to ensure full transparency in this election process.”

The waiver also indicated that the other candidates would “voluntarily submit to a lifestyle and government service performance check in accordance with law.”

The waiver was among the documents Binay brought during the second leg of PiliPinas presidential debates.

The other documents were his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth from 1988 to 2014; the affidavit he submitted to the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee; his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE); and the AMLC ex parte motion to drop JCB Foundation, Agrifortuna and six other respondents from a case filed before the Manila Regional Trial Court.

He said the documents, which he considered crucial to the Sunday debate, would have disproved the allegations against him.

Binay also brought with him his medical certificate; the plaque for the 2011 Seal of Good House Keeping from the Department of the Interior and Local Government signed by the late DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo; the plaque for the 2014 Blue Certification for Business Permits from the Office of the Ombudsman signed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales; and the plaque from the National Competitive Council for being the 1st Place Most Competitive City in the overall competitiveness category.

Binay's documents caused a stir during the debates as the other candidates said that it was against the Commission on Elections' rules on the debate.

Binay's camp insisted that it got a go-ahead from Comelec partner TV5 when it asked if the Vice President could bring in documents to the debate.

This misunderstanding caused the debate to be delayed by more than an hour and a half.

TV5's Luchi Cruz Valdez, before the start of the debates, apologized and asked Binay not to bring in the documents.

During Sunday’s presidential debate, Binay said that he was all for transparency, pointing out how he would expedite the implementation of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill by issuing an Executive Order.

“Alam po ninyo, kailangan po itong Freedom of Information (Bill), ito po ang sagot sa graft and corruption, transparency. Huwag na po nating daanin sa mga deba-debate pa. FOI, Freedom of Information, sa Executive Deparment, pai-implement ko po iyan,” he said.

He said the country’s need for an experienced leader who will pursue important measures upon assumption of office.

“Enough of mediocrity in governance. Performance, hindi po pangako. Gawa, hindi dada. Kapag ako po ang naging pangulo, dala-dala ko po ang malawak kong karanasan sa pamahalaan. Mayor, chairman, governor ng Metro Manila, naging vice president po ninyo,” he said. —NB, GMA News