PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Ramon G. Songco, Anthony W. Dee, Ricardo Ma. P.G. Ongkiko and Russel L. Rodriguez, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan SyCipLaw Center 105 Paseo de Roxas Makati City 1229 Philippines Tel: +632 8982 3500
+632 8982 3600 +632 8982 3700 Fax: +632 8848 2030 Email: sshg@syciplaw.com Web: www.syciplaw.com
1. Identifying Assets in the Jurisdiction 1.1 Options to Identify Another Party’s Asset Position The options available in the Philippines to identify the asset position of another party include the following. Examination of Publicly Available Records For information on the financial position of a corpora - tion, the plaintiff may obtain the corporation’s records (including the corporation’s Articles of Incorpora - tion, General Information Sheet, and Audited Finan - cial Statements) from the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission. For information on a party’s landholdings and other real properties, the plaintiff may obtain the relevant records (including land titles and deeds of transfers) from the Registry of Deeds where the real properties are located. For information on a party’s vehicle ownership, the plaintiff may obtain the relevant records (including the vehicle’s registration information) from the Land Transportation Office. Under the Bank Secrecy Law, all Philippine peso- denominated deposits of whatever nature with banks or banking institutions in the Philippines (including investments in bonds issued by the government of the Philippines, its political subdivisions and its instru - mentalities), are considered as absolutely confiden - tial in nature and may not be examined, inquired,
or looked into by any person, government official, bureau or office, except upon written permission of the depositor, or in cases of impeachment, or upon order of a competent court in cases of bribery or der - eliction of duty of public officials, or in cases where the money deposited or invested is the subject matter of the litigation. Several other exceptions include inves - tigations into unexplained wealth of public officials, applications for tax liability compromises, the determi - nation of a decedent’s estate, the garnishment of bank deposits to satisfy judgment debt, investigations on money laundering activities, regulatory inspections by the Philippine central bank, examinations of persons or groups suspected of terrorism or terrorism financ - ing, government audits, escheat proceedings, and co- ordinated verification of a disputed transaction. Foreign currency deposits are likewise confidential, with substantially the same set of regulations as Phil - ippine peso-denominated deposits. However, unlike Philippine peso-denominated deposits, foreign cur - rency deposits continue to enjoy bank secrecy even if these deposits are involved in cases of impeachment, or if there is an order from a competent court in cases of bribery or dereliction of duty of public officials, or in cases where the money deposited or invested is the subject matter of the litigation. Examination of a Party Subject to a Freezing Order As to the availability of a “freezing order” (which the authors understand is an interim court order ancillary to an applicant’s main claim preventing or restrict - ing a party or prospective party from dealing with its
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