Phl wants more time for AMLA changes

Manila, Philippines -  With less than a week left before Congress adjourns, the proposed amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) and the bill on terrorist financing suppression would most likely not be approved for signing by President Aquino before the deadline set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), Malacañang and the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) have been urging the Senate to approve the two bills by June 6 to avoid the inclusion of the Philippines in the blacklist of the FATF.

But the Senate would still ask the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to inform the FATF on the progress made by the Philippines in addressing its concerns on the anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) deficiencies of the country, officials said.

The FATF will hold its plenary session this June 18 in Rome, Italy and if the Philippines fails to have the two bills passed by that time, there is a strong possibility that the blacklisting would come soon after.

Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, chairman of the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies, said the bills amending the AMLA and the terrorist financing suppression would be passed by Tuesday next week.

The senators have agreed in caucus to pass the bills because being placed in the blacklist of the FATF is unacceptable.

“After a while, you can convince your colleagues that it is to our interest to be part of the international financial community and to follow their restrictions, limitations on the financial systems around the world. We will go broke literally overnight if we do not use the international financial system,” Osmeña said.

One of the biggest anticipated impacts of a blacklisting of the country is the additional requirement that would be imposed by banks on remittances of the overseas Filipino workers.

Osmeña said any additional documentary requirement imposed for remittances could lead to a decision by the banks around the world to exclude the Philippines from the countries that they serve because of the additional cost this would have on their operations.

“Because their margins (for remittances) are very small. Maybe they’ll make $0.02 per transmittal and then they would need to hire additional personnel (to sort out the documents), they would no longer make money on this. That will affect us very badly,” he said.

He stressed that the country cannot afford to lose any of these remittances, which have propped up the economy historically.

Since the President certified the bills as urgent, the Senate could pass the bill on third and final reading immediately after its approval on second reading.

The House of Representatives had already passed its version of the two bills.

The Senate decided to split the AMLA amendments bill into two measures but would eventually reconcile these into a single bill when it goes into the bicameral conference committee meetings.

However, based on the previous experience of Congress in passing the current version of the AMLA, Osmeña said the bicameral conference committee hearings for the current bills would be “bloody.”

“It’s going to be testy. Monday, Tuesday (we discuss the bill) and then Tuesday night we go into bicam. Can we finish the whole night until 5 a.m. and then we have it ratified on Wednesday? I don’t know,” Osmeña said.

He said the country has to try and convince the FATF that the country has taken significant steps to address the AML/CFT deficiencies, specifically the approval of the two bills by the Senate and the House.

“Maybe we can talk to FATF (and say) we passed this in the House, we passed this in the Senate, we’ve had one bicam, can you wait until July?” he said.

He said BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. would be asked to write the letter as chairman of the AMLC.

All three bills – Senate Bill 3123, seeking to expand the definition of money laundering and expanding the so-called covered institutions and persons, Senate Bill 3127 or the suppression of terrorist financing, and Senate Bill 3009, which would allow an ex-parte inquiry into accounts of persons and authorizing the AMLC to inquire into the so-called web of accounts – are now being tackled in plenary.