THE Anti-Money Laundering Council tried but failed to secure an order to freeze a bank account of Vice President Jejomar Binay, supposedly to stop its dissipation, and that proved the move was meant to harass Binay, his spokesman said Monday.
“The court did not grant AMLC’s petition and was instead ordered to comment on the motion of the vice president,” Rico Quicho said.
“This only shows that the case being presented by AMLC has no legal basis to stand on.”
Binay counsel Claro Certeza said a forfeiture case could not be filed against public officials like Binay within a year before the 2016 national elections based on Republic Act 1379.
He said this was the law that they cited in an omnibus motion they filed with the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 57 that sought to dismiss a forfeiture case filed against Binay by the AMLC last November.
Quicho said Binay had volunteered to the court that he would not touch the funds in his account until the court had resolved all legal issues against him.
“Since the 20-day provisional asset protection order was deemed lifted, Vice President Binay volunteered to the court that he will not touch the funds in his account in order for the court to properly resolve the legal issues,” Quicho said.
“This is a voluntary act to show that the vice president has nothing to hide and is confident in his position that the AMLC petition is not only illegal but also a clear act of political harassment.”
Quicho said that, after claiming earlier that the Vice President had billions deposited in 242 accounts, the AMLC had asked the Manila Regional Trial Court to freeze only one account with a deposit of P1.7 million, an admission that it had no solid evidence against Binay.
He said the AMLC had allowed itself to be part of a demolition team formed to discredit the vice president and prevent him from continuing his fight for the poor Filipinos ignored by the present administration.