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PNB vs. EMILIO A. GANCAYCO

1) The Philippine National Bank was required by special prosecutors to produce bank records of deposits belonging to Ernesto Jimenez, a public official under investigation for unexplained wealth. PNB refused, citing bank secrecy laws. 2) The court held that while laws generally protect bank secrecy, the Anti-Graft law explicitly allows disclosure of bank deposits for officials under investigation for unexplained wealth, notwithstanding any other laws. 3) The Anti-Graft law provides an additional exception to bank secrecy laws by allowing disclosure of deposits for officials being investigated for unexplained wealth or other corruption issues like bribery or dereliction of duty.

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86 views1 page

PNB vs. EMILIO A. GANCAYCO

1) The Philippine National Bank was required by special prosecutors to produce bank records of deposits belonging to Ernesto Jimenez, a public official under investigation for unexplained wealth. PNB refused, citing bank secrecy laws. 2) The court held that while laws generally protect bank secrecy, the Anti-Graft law explicitly allows disclosure of bank deposits for officials under investigation for unexplained wealth, notwithstanding any other laws. 3) The Anti-Graft law provides an additional exception to bank secrecy laws by allowing disclosure of deposits for officials being investigated for unexplained wealth or other corruption issues like bribery or dereliction of duty.

Uploaded by

Kling King
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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(excemption to bank secrecy – sec8 of RA 3019)

PNB vs. EMILIO A. GANCAYCO

Facts
Emilio Gancayco and Florentino Flor, as special prosecutors of the Department of Justice, required
the Philippine National Bank to produce at a hearing the records of the bank deposits of Ernesto Jimenez,
former administrator of the Agricultural Credit and Cooperative Administration, who was then under
investigation for unexplained wealth.
PNB refused to disclose his bank deposits, invoking Section 2 of Republic Act No. 1405. On the
other hand, the prosecutors cited the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, particularly Section 8 therewith,
to wit:
“Section 8. Dismissal due to unexplained wealth. – If in accordance with the provisions of RA 1379, a
public official has been found to have acquired during his incumbency, whether in his name or in the name
of other persons, an amount of property and/or money manifestly out of proportion to his salary and to his
other lawful income, that fact shall be a ground for dismissal or removal. Properties in the name of the
spouse and unmarried children of such public official, may be taken into consideration, when their
acquisition through legitimate means cannot be satisfactorily shown. Bank deposits shall be taken into
consideration in the enforcement of this section, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary.”
PNB then filed an action for declaratory judgment in the CFI of Manila which ruled that Section 8 of
the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act clearly intended to provide an additional ground for the examination
of bank deposits. Hence, this appeal.

Issue: WON a bank can be compelled to disclose the records of accounts of a depositor who is
under investigation for unexplained wealth

Held
Yes. While Republic Act No. 1405 provides that bank deposits are “absolutely confidential … and
may not be examined, inquired or looked into,” , the Anti-Graft Law directs in mandatory terms that bank
deposits shall be taken into consideration notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary
While no reconciliation is possible between Republic Act No. 1405 and Republic Act No. 3019 as the
two laws are so repugnant to each other. Thus, while Section 2 of Republic Act No. 1405 provides that bank
deposits are “absolutely confidential … and, therefore, may not be examined, inquired or looked into,”
except in those cases enumerated therein, Section 8 of Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-graft law) directs in
mandatory terms that bank deposits “shall be taken into consideration in the enforcement of this section,
notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary.” The only conclusion possible is that Section 8 of the
Anti-Graft Law is intended to amend Section 2 of Republic Act No. 1405 by providing an additional exception
to the rule against the disclosure of bank deposits.
With regard to the claim that disclosure would be contrary to the policy making bank deposits
confidential, it is enough to point out that while Section 2 of Republic Act No. 1405 declares bank deposits to
be “absolutely confidential,” it nevertheless allows such disclosure in the following instances: (1) Upon
written permission of the depositor; (2) In cases of impeachment; (3) Upon order of a competent court in
cases of bribery or dereliction of duty of public officials; (4) In cases where the money deposited is the
subject of the litigation.
Cases of unexplained wealth are similar to cases of bribery or dereliction of duty and no reason is
seen why these two classes of cases cannot be excepted from the rule making bank deposits confidential.
The policy as to one cannot be different from the policy as to the other. This policy expresses the notion that
a public office is a public trust and any person who enters upon its discharge does so with the full knowledge
that his life, so far as relevant to his duty, is open to public scrutiny.

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