THE HEAD of the Senate economic affairs committee is still drafting a measure that seeks to strengthen the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), as Congress faces pressure to pass the bill before October to help the country avoid sanctions by the global anti-money laundering watchdog.

Senator Imee R. Marcos said in a statement on Sunday that she is considering several AMLA amendments, such as allowing the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to investigate suspicious transactions without facing restraining orders from lower courts.

Another proposed amendment to the AMLA is the inclusion of real estate developers and brokers under the list of persons covered by AMLC’s monitoring. At present, the list includes banks and nonbank institutions, pawnshops, insurance companies, securities and jewelry dealers among others.

Also, the Senate bill being drafted by Ms. Marcos will consider tax crimes and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its financing as among the predicate offenses to money laundering.

Ms. Marcos said the measure is expected to be filed within the next two weeks.

The country is currently under observation of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which gave it until October to strengthen its anti-money laundering law.

Ms. Marcos said failure to amend the law before the deadline puts the Philippines at risk of being included in the FATF’s list as a “non-cooperative country” or “high-risk jurisdiction.”

“If the Philippines fails to pass FATF scrutiny and is marked as a threat to the international financial system, banking sanctions may again be imposed on OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) remittances and slow down their crucial contribution to the country’s foreign currency reserves,” she said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also recommended that the Philippines include tax evasion in the list of predicate crimes, improve customer due diligence, and relax the bank secrecy law.

At present, a bill seeking to amend the AMLA is pending at the House committee on banks and financial intermediaries.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor and AMLC Chairman Benjamin E. Diokno recently made the same call for Congress to pass the AMLC amendments as well as the proposed Anti-Terror law before October.

The Senate on Feb. 26 passed the measure strengthening government response to terrorism on third and final reading; while its counterpart House measure is still awaiting panel deliberation.

On top of those provided in Ms. Marcos’s draft bill, the BSP also sought to give AMLC the authority to implement targeted financial transactions, preserve assets subject of freeze orders or retain forfeited assets.

The central bank also pushed to expand AMLC’s investigative power to include subpoena and contempt powers. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

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