By Wilnard Bacelonia | Philippine News Agency
A P10.6-million insurance investment purchased by lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio is considered personal property and may be treated as an asset, while any anti-money laundering red flag on the transaction would not by itself void the policy, the Senate impeachment court was told Wednesday.
FWD Life Insurance Corp. Chief Legal and Compliance Officer lawyer Juan Sotero Roman explained the distinction as senator-judges examined the financial product under Article II of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment case.
“A financial product, Your Honor, is a species of personal property. And therefore, it can be an asset,” Roman said.
Pressed on the specific P10.6-million single-premium policy purchased by Carpio, Duterte’s husband, Roman said: “It’s personal property, and it’s therefore an asset.”
The policy also carries a P13.25-million sum assured, but Roman said that amount has a different character because it becomes payable only upon the death of the insured. “This is not yet, in my view, an asset. This is a future event,” he said.
Roman said the investment component has a withdrawable value that may rise or fall depending on market performance.
He also clarified that the policyholder may withdraw the investment at any time, with the amount determined by its prevailing market value.
The court separately examined how insurers handle potentially suspicious funds after senator-judge Erwin Tulfo asked whether an insurance company could terminate a policy if it suspected money laundering.
Roman said insurers conduct due diligence on an applicant’s occupation, source of funds, and financial capacity, and are required to watch for suspicious or unusual transactions.
“We are obligated to have indicators to determine if there are, what you would call, suspicious or unusual aspects of an applicant,” he said.
He added that FWD conducts further scrutiny when a transaction does not match the customer’s financial profile.
But Roman said suspicion alone does not allow the company to make a definitive finding of money laundering or automatically cancel an insurance contract.
“If we are ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, we will follow,” he said.
Presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero clarified that insurance companies are covered institutions under the Anti-Money Laundering Act and must report covered or suspicious transactions.
“If they find any transaction in excess of the threshold or found to be suspicious, they are mandated by law to report those transactions,” Sen. Escudero said.
“But that’s as far as it goes,” he added, noting that a report is not equivalent to a judicial finding of money laundering.
Roman also said Carpio’s children are the beneficiaries of the P13.25-million life insurance coverage.
If Carpio fully surrenders the policy while alive, he receives the prevailing withdrawal value and the insurance coverage ends. If the policy remains in force until the insured event occurs, the sum assured is paid to the beneficiaries.
The impeachment court has yet to determine whether the P10.6-million policy was required to be reflected in VP Duterte’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth and how it should be valued for disclosure purposes.
