In an interview, Sen. Lacson answers questions on:
– calls to look into President Duterte’s bank accounts
– China’s reported buildup in the South China Sea
Quotes from the interview…
On Sen. Trillanes’ reported call to look into bank records of President Duterte:
“First, ang sinasabing violation ng AMLA, magkakaroon ng violation kung may predicate crime. Di porke’t lumampas ng P500,000 ang deposit sa threshold amount, automatic iimbestigahan. Automatic magre-report ang bank official. But ang investigation can be triggered kung may predicate crime na involved.”
“Maski anong amount kung walang predicate crime anong iimbestigahan mo? Yan ang malinaw sa AMLA. Kaya in-specify lahat na predicate crimes. Ang crimes na hindi covered ng AMLA di pwede mag-trigger ng investigation.”
“Babasahin. Ire-refer pa rin. Pwede pa rin i-hear. Kaya lang hamstrung ang inquiry ng Bank Secrecy Act at AMLA. Kaya medyo mahirap ang situation.”
On whether an investigation can be started based on a hunch:
“Magva-violate kami ng Bank Secrecy Act.”
“Sa non-declaration, who will prove hindi dineclare ang pera sa bangko na wala naman nakakaalam na hindi naman pwedeng ilabas?”
“Walang predicate crime. Kailangan ipakita mo muna may predicate crime, like involved sa drugs.”
On the reported buildup of China in the South China Sea:
“The only way to stop it is a balance of power and we are not included in that balance of power kasi wala tayong power. Hindi tayo superpower eh. So ang pwede lang mag check and balance ng isang superpower is another superpower. How? Probably US or any European countries na meron din silang, kasi sa navigation yan. Pero a country like the Philippines, all we can do at most is to raise a howl. Ang arbitral ruling while favorable sa atin, that’s not implementable.”
“We cannot stop China kasi sinasabi nila kanila yan. Within our resources, within our power, di natin kaya. Even the arbitral ruling di naman ma-implement. The only way to implement an arbitral ruling is by way of international pressure. Ganoon din naman kung may nagkuwan ang China… build facilities there, ang pwede lang mag-ano is another superpower. And we are not that superpower.”
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