BPI denies leaking information on Duterte’s bank accounts
The Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) has denied allegations that someone among its officials or employees provided the political opponents of Davao City Mayor and presidential front runner Rodrigo Duterte with information about his account deposits within the bank.
The BPI began by acknowledging the criticisms from many of its depositors over the apparent breach of client confidentiality in the case of Duterte’s accounts. “Allegations of breach of client confidentiality have recently been leveled at the Bank of the Philippine Islands. Our internal investigation reveals that there has been no such breach,” the bank said in a statement posted on its official Facebook page Friday night.
The bank then went on to boast that it has “one of the most highly regarded data protection practices in the industry” and that they are “committed to protecting client information and preserving the trust bestowed on us by our clients all these years.” This is an apparent response to depositors who threatened to move their accounts to other banks because of the brouhaha.
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV had previously claimed that Duterte maintains a savings account in BPI Julia Vargas branch in Ortigas Center, Pasig City. According to the former soldier, Duterte used the said account to hide as much as P211 million in undeclared wealth. For his part, Duterte has admitted having a deposit account in BPI but he insists that it is nowhere near the amount that Trillanes claims he has.
The Mayor also challenged the Senator to meet his lawyer Salvador Panelo on Monday, May 2, so he can personally inspect the amount of money saved there. Trillanes is running for Vice President as an independent though he is aligning himself with Senator Grace Poe, Duterte’s leading rival.
According to Section 3 of Republic Act 1405 or the so-called Bank Secrecy Law, it is illegal for any official or employee of a banking institution to disclose to any person other than the depositor any information concerning the said deposits.
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