MANILA – Lawyers reportedly representing prominent members of the Ampatuan clan tried this morning, December 3, to withdraw money from Cotabato City bank accounts that form part of the Ampatuan wealth ordered frozen by the government.
At least two lawyers claiming to represent the Ampatuans reportedly tried to get officials of the Banco de Oro branch in Makakua, Cotabato City to release funds. It is not clear if the lawyers were successful.
The attempt comes just hours after a six-month freeze order imposed by the Court of Appeals on almost 600 bank accounts linked to the Ampatuans expired last night.
Media groups had warned government of reports that the clan would try to move funds as soon as the bank accounts are unfrozen. In a last-minute move to keep the funds frozen, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLAC), through the Office of the Solicitor General, filed a civil forfeiture case against the Ampatuans before the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 22.
FFFJ & NUJP Statement on expiry of the freeze order vs Ampatuan wealth
Here is the joint statement of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) on the expiry today of the six-month freeze order that the Court of Appeals had issued, on motion of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), on the bank accounts, mansions and houses, firearms, and vehicles of the Ampatuan clan members and their associates.
The FFFJ and the NUJP learned that it was only yesterday, Dec. 1, that the AMLC through the Office of the Solicitor-General filed with a Manila regional trial court a civil forfeiture case with a prayer for the urgent issuance of a new freeze order. However, as of the close of office hours today, we have not received confirmation that a new freeze order had been issued by the trial court.
In the joint statement, the FFFJ and NUJP said:“We view with great alarm the unwarranted delay and apparent lack of attention and negligence that the AMLC and the OSG had accorded this case. A week ahead of today’s expiry of the appellate court’s freeze order, we have called government attention to this grave matter – the possibility that the Ampatuans could take such delay as a chance to retake control of their enormous unexplained wealth to put pressure to bear on their trial for the Maguindanao massacre of Nov. 23, 2009, which claimed the lives of 58 persons, including 32 media workers.
“The Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, Inc. (FFFJ) and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) urge all concerned government agencies, but especially AMLC, to take whatever steps are necessary to correct this anomaly.”
The government at the same time asked the court for a provisional asset preservation order which is similar to a freeze order. The case was filed on Dec. 1, 2011, or just one day before the original freeze order expired, causing media groups to complain about govenment’s last-minute actions.
Fortunately, the Manila RTC issued a new freeze order yesterday.
The AMLAC is going after more than a billion pesos in assets linked to the family of former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr.
The AMLAC complaint is based on the findings of the Commission on Audit of irregularities in spending and disbursements by Ampatuan family members who held high positions in the region; as well as the report by a lifestyle check panel led by Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao Humphrey Monteroso. The lifestyle check panel found some 597 bank accounts linked to the Ampatuans, as well as an entire collection of mansions, vehicles, and guns. (Philippine Center for Investigate Reporting)
Link: http://pcij.org/blog/2011/12/03/ampatuans-try-to-withdraw-cotabato-accounts
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