Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero renewed his push for greater transparency and accountability in government by refiling the measure mandating all public officials and employees to waive their rights under Republic Act No. 1405 or the Law on the Secrecy of Bank Deposits and Republic Act No. 6426 or the Foreign Currency Deposit Act.

The bill primarily mandates government personnel—except those serving in an honorary capacity—to submit a written waiver authorizing the Office of the Ombudsman to examine all their deposits and investments, including foreign currency accounts.

Escudero said the bill is aimed at reinforcing anti-corruption efforts and bolster public trust in government institutions.

“This bill has languished for too long,..I’m hopeful that this time, we can turn the rhetoric of transparency into actionable policy,” the Senate leader said.

Escudero has since been pushing for the lifting of confidentiality of bank deposits since 2013, grounded in the belief that public office is a public trust and that all government officials and employees are accountable to the public.

If approved into law, no civil servant—regardless of rank—can use his or her position to plunder public coffers.

While the bank secrecy law was enacted to encourage savings and economic development, the senator noted it is now acting as a shield for illicit activity.

“The law may have served their purpose in the past, but their rigidity has enabled corruption to thrive under the guise of confidentiality,” he said.

“We are the last country standing in preserving absolute secrecy. That distinction doesn’t protect democracy but rather, it undermines it,” he pointed out, warning that institutions can be exploited to hide illegal wealth, launder money, evade taxes and commit other financial crimes due to this law.

“Verily, any person who has nothing to hide in secret would only welcome this proposal in the name of transparency and accountability,” he wrote in the explanatory note of the bill.

Escudero stressed it is high-time for the government itself to lead in administrative reforms and signal a systemic shift towards transparency and accountability. 

Aside from this measure, the Senate chief also filed the bill prohibiting interference by national government agencies in the use of the National Tax Allotment and locally-generated revenues of local government units (LGUs).

He also filed the measure strengthening local autonomy by amending the Local Government Code of 1991 (RA 7160).

Other measures he filed include:

• An act providing temporary tax relief to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to boost business competitiveness;

• An act reducing compliance costs for MSMEs by amending the National Internal Revenue Code;

• An act increasing and automatically adjusting the Personnel Economic Relief Allowance (PERA) for government employees;

• An act reinstating mandatory credit allocation for MSMEs and penalizing noncompliance;

• An act updating the Condominium Act (RA 4726) to promote responsible redevelopment;

• An act creating a Tripartite Council to address unemployment, job-skills mismatch, and tech-induced displacement, and

• An act lowering the compulsory retirement age of DepEd personnel from 65 to 60 years old.