President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is open to supporting a proposed legislation to compel public officials to waive their bank secrecy rights under the law.

“Ang Pangulo po ay sang-ayon po at dapat lang po natin ipatupad itong accountability at transparency sa gobyerno,” Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said on Monday.

“So hindi po tayo magkakaroon ng negatibong sagot mula sa Pangulo,” Castro added in a press briefing in Malacañang.

Castro was asked for President Marcos’ opinion on Senate President Francis Escudero’s proposal to lift the application of the Bank Secrecy Law on bank deposits of public officials and employees.

Since 2013, Escudero has filed a bill in Congress that requires all civil servants, except those serving in an honorary capacity, to submit a written permission or waiver in favor of the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate all their bank deposits, both within and outside the country, including investments in government bonds.

Escudero has also challenged all national and local candidates seeking elective posts to waive their rights under Republic Act No. 1405, also known as the Bank Secrecy Act of 1955, which prohibits the disclosure of or inquiry into deposits with any banking institution. ǀ PND