House approves bill amending bank secrecy law on second reading

THE HOUSE of Representatives on Monday approved on second reading a bill amending the Philippines’ decades-old bank secrecy law, allowing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to look into the accounts of bank officers and employees involved in illegal financial activities.

In a voice vote, congressmen approved House Bill No. 6707 that would “lift the barriers in the effective investigation and prosecution of corrupt or illegal financial actions of stockholders, owners, directors, trustees, officers or employees of entities supervised and regulated by the BSP.”