Senator Grace Poe said Thursday the people and the economy will be the beneficiaries of a tougher Anti-Money Laundering Act or AMLA, which was approved on second reading Wednesday night.
Senate Bill 1945, authored by Poe, contains amendments to the law that aims to curb money laundering and terrorist financing activities.
Poe, head of the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions, and currencies, said the approved version was a product of the senators’ well-studied and thorough deliberation of the measure.
“Preserving the integrity of the financial system will lead to a suitable investment climate, which can contribute in tangible ways to create jobs and other livelihood opportunities,” Poe said.
“I believe in the intention of this law but I also admit with the help of our colleagues that we were able to cure a few things that might have been too much of an imposition on us.”
The measure was crafted as a response to the key findings of the mutual evaluation report or MER that evaluated the Philippines’ compliance with the 40 recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering.
“If we fail to act now, the FATF Asia Pacific Joint Group or AP-JG will place the Philippines in the so-called ‘gray list’ along with countries like Albania, Pakistan, Panama, Syria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe,” Poe said earlier.
“Being on this list is a very strong signal to market participants and regulators globally. It has implications that we must avoid as much as we can, especially during the time of a global pandemic.”
Poe earlier said the “enhanced due diligence” to be imposed on the Philippines could translate to higher costs of remittances for the millions of Filipino workers sending money to their families.
Being under tight scrutiny, Filipino nationals and businesses that transact with AP-JG members could also face additional costs, paperwork, higher interest rates, and processing fees.
The Philippines would also likely incur a “reputational risk” that would certainly result in reduced investor and lender confidence.
