The effectivity of the "Rules on the Imposition of  Administrative Sanctions under Republic Act No. 9160, as Amended" is today, 09 August 2017, not 08 August 2017, as previously published.

On 17 – 21 July 2017, the Asia Pacific group (APG) on Money Laundering held its annual plenary meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Philippine delegation consists of members of the Anti-Money Laundering Council Secretariat, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Insurance Commission and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Among the issues discussed during the plenary is Philippines’ compliance to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Forty Recommendations, particularly on the inclusion of casinos as covered persons. It would be recalled that in 2013, the FATF removed the Philippines from the list of vulnerable jurisdictions (“grey list”) but enjoined it to “work with the APG as it continues to address the full range of AML/CFT issues identified in its Mutual Evaluation Report, in particular, regulating the casino sector in the Philippines for AML/CFT purposes and making it subject to AML/CFT requirements.”

During the annual meeting, the Philippine delegation reported to APG membership that the casino bill has been signed into law by the President. As such, the Philippines has been taken out from APG membership action.

The APG (a FATF-Style Regional Body) is an autonomous and collaborative international organization founded in 1997 in Bangkok, Thailand and the Philippines is one of the founding members. Currently, it consists of 41 members and a number of international and regional observers, including the FATF. APG members and observers are committed to the effective implementation and enforcement of internationally accepted standards against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, in particular the Forty Recommendations.

AMLC, PDEA Join Hands

 In order to strengthen coordination and exchange of information between two leading agencies that are at the forefront of the fight against illegal drugs, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), through its Secretariat, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) held a workshop for Luzon on 19-21 October 2016.  This was followed by the AMLC-PDEA Workshop for Visayas on 29-31 March 2017. Since the two (2) workshops proved to be very fruitful, a third workshop for Mindanao was held on 19-23 June 2017.  Present during each workshop are at least thirty (30) participants.

 The AMLC Secretariat and the PDEA held the series of workshops to harmonize the efforts of the two agencies in handling pending cases referred by each other and apply the lessons learned in future cases. Financial investigators, drug enforcement investigators and intelligence officers actively participated in the workshop to provide first-hand information on the legal and operational aspects of the coordination.

With the improved coordination between the two agencies, the AMLC and the PDEA expect to carry out its legal mandate in the investigation and prosecution of money laundering and drug trafficking cases like a well-oiled machine.