House Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Representative Leila de Lima on Wednesday filed House Bill 5701, which seeks to grant the Office of the Ombudsman the authority to access and examine bank accounts and financial records of individuals under investigation, according to a report by RH Milky Rigonan.

"Kailangang palakasin ang kapangyarihan ng Ombudsman, bilang Tanodbayan, sa pag-iimbestiga sa mga anomalyang ito, lalo pa’t ginagamit ng mga korap ang mga butas sa batas para hindi mabisto at mapagtakpan ang kanilang mga kabulastugan," De Lima said in a social media post.

"This will not only strengthen the subpoena power of the Office of the Ombudsman, this will also help in deterring corrupt officials and their accomplices in taking advantage of legal loopholes in our banking system," she added.

The proposed measure also seeks to modify the Bank Secrecy Law to allow the Ombudsman to review bank records without the need for a court order.

According to De Lima, a previous Supreme Court ruling hindered the Ombudsman’s ability to swiftly investigate corruption cases, as it effectively limited the office’s power to issue subpoenas concerning bank accounts and records.

She added that the proposed measure would enhance the Ombudsman’s capacity to pursue cases involving anomalies in government transactions, helping to catch corrupt officials and their accomplices who exploit legal loopholes in the banking system.

De Lima also stressed that the lack of sufficient enforcement and regulatory mechanisms has made it easier for money laundering activities to go undetected and prevent suspicious transactions from slipping through the bank system.