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DEPOSITS ACT
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1080 COMMERCIAL LAW REVIEW
2. O p e r a t i v e P r o v i s i o n s
•-''a. SECRECY OF BANK DEPOSITS - Under the Act, all deposits of whatever
nature with banks or banking institutions, including investments in
bonds issued by the Government, and its political subdivisions and
instrumentalities, are absolutely confidential in nature and may not be
examined, inquired or looked into by any person, government official,
bureau or office.
Onate v. Abrogar
230 SCRA 181 (1994)
In a collection suit by an insurance company to determine
how the defendant has applied the proceeds of a check paid
to it, the grant by the trial court of examination of the pertinent
records of the bank was allowed without need of notice to the
SECRECY OF BANK DEPOSITS ACT 1081
b. Under the General Banking Law of 2000 - in line with the Secrecy
- " o f Bank Deposit Act, no bank shall employ casual or non-regular
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PNB v. Gancayco
15 SCRA 91 (1965)
Although the Secrecy of Bank Deposits Act does K o f include
cases covered by the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (R.A.
3019), cases of unexplained wealth should be included considering
the mandatory terms of Sec. 8 providing that bank deposits 'shall
be taken into consideration in the enforcement of this section,
notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary."
Marquez v. Desierto
359 SCRA 772 (2001)
Outside of Sec. 8 of R.A. 3019 on unexplained wealth, before an
in^camera inspection may be allowed of bank deposits, there must
be a pending case before a court of competent jurisdiction. Further,
the account must be clearly identified, the inspection limited to the
subject matter of the pending case before the court of competent
jurisdiction. The bank personnel and the account holder must be
notified to be present during the inspection, and such inspection
may cover only the account identified in the pending case. An
investigation [not specifically under Sec. 8 of the Anti-Graft and
Corrupt Practices Law on unexplained wealth] by the Office of the
Ombudsman is riot a pending litigation to allow examination of the
respondent's bank'account.
^ c . 55.4. R A. 8791
SECRECY OF BANK DEPOSITS ACT 1083
yHeld: Since the charge filed against the company cashier was
for theft of company money, the testimony of the depositary bank
where the company checks were deposit by her in her personal
account cannot be allowed. The inquiry into bank deposits
allowable under R.A. 1405 must be premised on the fact that the
money deposited in the account is itself the subject of the action.
The evidence regarding the diversion of company checks would
> 1 i a v e been relevant, and would have constituted a clear exception
to the secrecy of bank deposit accounts, if the crime charged was
that of estafa.
HOWEVER: Sec. 135 of New Central Bank Act repealed Pres. Decree
1792.
c. Under the 1997 NIRC - Sec. 6(F) of the 1977 National Internal
Revenue Code (Rep. Act 8424), authorizes the BIR Commissioner to
inquire into bank deposit accounts of:
/
(af A decedent to determine his gross estate; and
(b) Any taxpayer who has filed an application for compromise
of his tax liability by reason of financial incapacity to pay his
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(3) Power of BSP - Jo ensure compliance with the AMLA, BSP may
inquire into or examine any deposit or investment with any banking
institution on non-bank financial institution when the examination is
made in the course of periodic or special examination.
e. Revised PDIC Charter - Rep. Act 9576, in revising the PDIC Charter,
provided that, notwithstanding the provisions of the Secrecy of Bank
Deposit Act, PDIC and/or BSP "may inquire into or examine deposit
accounts and all information related [to bank deposits] in case there is
a finding of unsafe or unsound banking practice."
(il) It should also affirm that it "has exhausted all legal means
available in its own territory to obtain the information, except
those that would give rise to disproportionate difficulttes."
(ii) Settlement of Estates - The Act also lifts the veil of confi-
dentiality over bank deposits for cases involving the settlement
of the estate of deceased persons: to determine the gross
estate (or totality of the monetary assets and personal and real
properties) of a decedent, BIR is authorized to inquire into his
bank deposits and other related information held by banks and
financial institutions.