In the Philippines, the government will cancel and confiscate deposits in bank accounts that have not been used for a long time.

A bank account in the Philippines may be considered an unclaimed account if no deposit or withdrawal has been made under the account in the past 10 years. According to the 3936 of the Republic Act (RA) as amended by Presidential Decree No. 679, these unclaimed account balances can be confiscated by the government.

Unclaimed balances, as defined in section 1 of RA3936, include evidence of money, bullion, securities or any other form of debt, as well as interest with banks, buildings, loan associations and trust companies (as defined below).

The law requires all banks, construction and loan associations and trust companies to submit a sworn statement to the Philippine Secretary of Finance in January every odd year listing all unclaimed accounts they know. However, banks, construction and loan associations and trust companies shall communicate with the last known residence or post office address of the unclaimed account remarks (Section 2, RA3936 Revision) before filing the above sworn statement. The Treasurer of the Philippines is obliged from time to time to inform the Attorney General of unclaimed accounts held by banks, construction and loan associations and trust companies.

Thereafter, the Attorney-General of the Philippines shall initiate proceedings in the name of the people of the Republic of the Philippines in order to render a judgement in its favor, declare that the unclaimed account balance shall be in favor of the Government and order the banks, construction and loan associations or trust companies to be used immediately, through the Minister of Finance of the Philippines, in the name of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, as directed by the Congress. The action shall include banks, building loan associations or trust companies and all such creditors or depositors as parties.

Therefore, if your account has been deactivated for 10 years or more, your deposit with the bank may be included in the list of unclaimed accounts. However, before the balance of these unclaimed accounts can be deposited into government accounts, the Attorney General must initiate an urgent procedure. On the other hand, if your account does not reach a 10-year dormancy period and no bankruptcy proceedings are initiated, then the ownership of the account balance still belongs to you.