Court lifts freeze order on Ongpin bank accounts

MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals (CA) has lifted a freeze order on the bank accounts of former trade minister Roberto Ongpin, who was accused of striking anomalous deals with state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

In a resolution on Tuesday, May 7, the CA’s 5th Division said that the prolonged enforcement of the order against Ongpin and former officials of the DBP amounted to “intrusion.” 

“Bank accounts are property rights and prolonged freezing thereof will already amount to intrusion, even violation of such basic rights,” said Justice Leoncia Real-Dimagiba. 

The court added that the Anti-Money Laundering Council, through its counsel, the Office of the Solicitor General, “failed to prove its case.”

In December 2012, the CA froze the bank accounts of Ongpin due to alleged preferential loans obtained from DBP. The court issued orders to 20 banks and financial institutions for about 100 bank accounts linked to Ongpin. The Office of the Ombudsman also dismissed 13 DBP officials for providing loans to Ongpin-led Delta Ventures in 2009.

Ongpin’s lawyers filed a petition for mandamus before the Supreme Court on April 15, arguing that the appellate court should have resolved motions to lift the freeze order within the Anti-Money Laundering Act’s mandated 20-day period. The CA extended the order for 6 months after the 20th day without resolving motions from bank account holders.

Ongpin’s lawyers added that after 5 months and 3 public hearings, no evidence of illegal activity has been found.

“In all the accounts we have caused to be frozen pursuant to our 6 December 2012 Resolution, We failed to see the links between the alleged unlawful activity and the accounts. We cannot rely on surmises and speculations. We need direct and hard evidence otherwise we will be depriving the account holders of the use of their legitimate incomes,” the appellate court said.

Ongpin is the country’s 11th richest man, according to Forbes magazine’s richest list. He has a controlling stake in property firm Alphaland Corp. and is the largest single investor in San Miguel Corp. through his company Top Frontier Investment Holdings. His net worth is estimated at $1.2 billion. – Rappler.com