CHIZ TO G20: LOOK IN THE MIRROR FIRST

Sen. Chiz Escudero said yesterday that those responsible for the worldwide economic crunch need first to admit their sins before coming up with scapegoats.

The opposition senator was reacting to concerns over international tax standards raised by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) during the recent G20 summit.

Several countries, including the Philippines, have been included by the OECD in a blacklist of countries that have not committed to these standards, particularly on exchanging tax information.

"If they want to talk about commitment to transparency, let us start with those US banks that definitely cannot be held up as paragons of fiduciary responsibility," he stressed, noting that while they collapsed the local banking system has remained unscathed.

He said the concerns of the OECD should have been conveyed to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), which will then determine what action should be taken to the extent permitted by law.

He added that the AMLC should declassify the concerns forwarded by G20 members, including the bill of particulars.

"If remedial action legislation is needed to further ironclad the anti-money laundering law, the AMLC should draw up one based on lessons learned from the actual implementation of the law, and not because a conclave of those responsible for the global economic mess, in absolving themselves of any liability, is shifting the blame to others," Escudero said.

He emphasized those countries like the US cannot be an exemplar on how to conduct oversight since banks misbehaved under the very regulatory regime that they crafted.

"Banking practices that contaminated the world of toxic debt cannot be models of discretion. It's like making a junk vehicle the car of the year," he added.

"The G20 concerns should be independently verified if they have any basis at all, or if they were hurriedly inserted as a filler in their standard communique".