Disaster group asks CA to lift freeze order on bank accounts

A NON-government organization engaged in community-based disaster response management yesterday asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to lift the freeze order issued by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) last May 10 against its bank accounts.

The Citizens Disaster Response Center (CDRC), the secretariat of the Citizens’ Disaster Response Network (CDRN), through the National Union of Peoples Lawyers (NUPL), said the freeze order has no basis as they were not engaged in any activities inimical to the state.

It said their works prioritize disaster response management in vulnerable communities across the country.

The CDRC is the lead convenor of the DRRNetPhils, one of the civil society partners of the government’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The AMLC, in its order, said CDRC’s bank accounts were frozen because these were allegedly used to finance terrorism activities as defined under Republic Act 10168 or the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.

The AMLC said CDRC is the direct recipient of funds from the bank accounts of Leyte Center for Development Inc. (LCDE), which are subject to a separate freeze order.

LCDE has already filed a petition challenging the freeze order.

The CDRC told the appellate court that it has returned the funds to the LCDE as it was over what was intended to be provided for relief operations after “Typhoon Agaton” struck the country.

“Hence, there is no probable cause to conclude that both CDRC and LCDe were engaged in criminal activity in light of the totality of circumstances,” the petition said., adding: “The AMLC indeed serves as jury, judge and executioner in conducting bank inquiries, determining probable cause, and issuing freeze orders – all without notice and hearing or judicial intervention.”

NUPL National President Ephraim Cortes said the AMLC freeze order violated CDRC’s constitutional rights to due process and freedom of expression.

“This malicious tarnishing and freezing of assets belonging to red-tagged NGOs creates a chilling effect on their advocacies and stifles their right to utilize their resources to pursue aims that otherwise fall under protected freedoms,” Cortes said