AMID the controversial foreign dollar accounts of Chief Justice Renato Corona, two lawmakers have proposed separate amendments to the existing Foreign Currency Deposits Act of the Philippines.

Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay said that dollar accounts should be opened in cases of graft and corruption to promote transparency.

“It is not surprising that laws have a tendency to become outdated. After all, it was passed in 1974 and the conditions in 1974 are far different from now. And since this has been in effect for the longest time, we only now see its weaknesses at this time when there is a pressing issue in front of us. Laws should reflect the sign of the times and this is the perfect time to update them in order to meet the needs of this society,” Magsaysay said.

The law was cited as the grounds for the non-disclosure of the contents of Corona’s dollar accounts with PSBank. The Supreme Court subsequently passed a TRO upholding the law and the Senate had to vote whether to follow the SC ruling or not.

“If the rules were clearer with the exemptions, then there would not have been an issue. However, measures must be implemented to ensure that this measure for transparency will not be abused as the banking industry will be made very vulnerable in that scenario. We must also take that into consideration,” Magsaysay added.

Camarines Sur Rep. Salvio Fortuno has filed a bill seeking to open the dollar accounts of public officials to scrutiny.

“The amendatory Presidential Decrees (PD 1034, 1035 and 1246) to Republic Act 6426 were designed to draw deposits from foreign lenders and investors and not from government crooks and criminals,” Fortuno stressed.

In the wake of the raging controversy generated by the TRO issued by the Supreme Court directing the impeachment court to desist from compelling the PS Bank to submit documents pertaining to the foreign currency deposits of impeached Chief Justice Renato C. Corona, Fortuno cited the need to revisit the law or Republic Act No. 6426.    JM