The Anti Money Laundering Act of 2001 known
as RA 9160, is the foundation of this presentation on
workshop design for money laundering offenses. It is to be noted, though, that
there is a need for the immediate approval of the AMLA’s Implementing Rules and
Regulations (IRR) by the Congressional Oversight Committee before any specific
courses of action can be taken with finality. Another major area of
consideration is the recent assessment made by the FATF on the AMLA, which
found deficiencies in our AMLA and which need to be addressed before any form
of delisting of the
It should be seriously considered that all sectors,
both public and private, must take a pro-active position, given the magnitude
of responsibilities and obligations which the AMLA imposes upon covered
institutions, their supervising authorities, and related government agencies,
as well as the consequences which the Philippines will face should its money
laundering regime continue to be determined as being non-compliant with
international standards. Such standards being the FATF’s 40 Recommendations and
FATF’s new Special 8 Recommendations relative to terrorist financing.
Hence, even at this early stage in the development of
the law and its regulations, it is imperative to map out a course of action
that will serve as guidance for all those involved in money laundering
legislation, its implementation and enforcement.
·
It
is recommended that the issue of information exchange be deliberated upon by a
Working Group, to be composed of the government agencies and the private
sector, among which are, but not limited to the Philippine Center on
Transnational Crime, Bankers Association of the Philippines, Department of
Finance, Department of Justice, and the National Bureau of Investigation.
Volunteers will be recruited by the workshop participants to meet and discuss
relevant areas as to how an effective information exchange of information can
be obtained by and between the private and public sectors. Results of these
discussions will be recruited by the workshop participants to meet and discuss
relevant areas as to how an effective exchange of information can be obtained
between the private and public sectors. Results of these discussions will be
relayed to the AMLAC by the end of February 2002.
Among
the topics to be discussed are the following:
·
The
flow of information from government agencies and law enforcement agencies
regarding unlawful activities to the AMLAC;
·
The
flow of information from covered institutions to the AMLAC;
·
Establishment
of a standard system of reporting covered and suspicious transactions;
·
Enforcement
of confidentiality provisions.
b) The PCTC will serve as the coordinating body on
information exchange. It shall serve as secretariat to the Working Group, to be
composed of the government agencies and the private sector, among which are,
but not limited to the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime, Bankers Association
of the Philippines, Department of Finance, Department of Justice, and the
National Bureau of Investigation.
·
The
Workshop participants are united in recommending that the threshold limit for
mandatory reporting should be pegged at Php500,000.00
or above. Any and all transactions involving amounts of Php500,000.00 or above should be reported to the AMLAC. The
qualifying phrase found in the law- “except those between a covered
institution and a person, who, at the time of the transaction was a properly
identified client and the amount is commensurate with the business or financial
capacity of the client; or those with an underlying legal or trade obligation,
purpose, origin or economic justification.” (Section 3[b] of the AMLA)
should be deleted. This will remove any exercise of discretion by the covered
institution, which shall entrust to the AMLAC the keeping and retention of all
such reports, subject to the confidentiality provisions of the law.
·
The
AMLAC shall keep all reports in strict confidentiality and will perform the
function of an information gathering center, much like the FINCEN of the
·
It
is also highly recommended that suspicious transactions should likewise be
reported. The Supervising Authorities shall issue Operating Manuals to guide
the Covered Institutions on the filing of these suspicious transactions, which
shall be regardless of amount.
·
It
is likewise recommended that AMLAC be given teeth necessary to pursue money
laundering cases, be granted the authority to inquire into bank accounts
without any court order, as an exception to the Bank Secrecy Act, when the
AMLAC finds probable cause that a money laundering offense has been, is being,
or is about to be committed.
·
A
special court should be designated by the Supreme Court to hear and try money
laundering cases. This is in acknowledgement of the fact that money laundering
is a field that requires special expertise and knowledge, which can be acquired
through special training and education and which can and should be provided to
the judges of these special courts.
·
Special
attention must be given to the training for frontliners of the covered
institutions, who will be the first point of contact of clients and customers.
They must know and understand what a suspicious transaction is and when it is
necessary to flag and account and its account holder.
·
It
was also agreed that should there be any major areas of concern with respect to
the AMLA and its IRRs, the matter be brought officially to the attention of the
AMLAC, which in turn will relay the communication to the Congressional
Oversight Committee.
·
It
was duly observed that the AMLA, by itself, has given the AMLAC the authority
to require assistance from any law enforcement agency of the government in
implementing the law, being the lead agency in the investigation of all money
laundering cases. However, it was suggested that Memoranda of Agreement be made
with each law enforcement agency or government agency from which the AMLAC will
require assistance.
·
It
is recommended that a specific provision be included in said MOAs for the
detail of personnel from the law enforcement and other agencies to the AMLAC.
These agencies shall include the PCTC, NBI, PNP, DOF-CMIO, OSG, BIR, DOJ, DFA,
BID, NICA, Ombudsman, IBP, OSG, NACC, BIR.
·
The
AMLAC will be the key initiator of training requirements for each agency and
will schedule such training programs depending on availability thereof and
existing resources.
·
Training
programs will definitely have to be developed not only for AMLAC Secretariat,
the covered institutions and other concerned government agencies such as the
PCTC pursuant to Executive Order Nos. 62 and private entities. The conduct of
echo seminars and conferences will have to be undertaken and schedules
regularly.
·
AMLAC
shall explore the possibility of availing assistance and services of
international organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, which has
already offered a training package amounting to US$1 Million, World Bank, USAID. The FATF President, Mts. Clairie Lo, has in fact, in
a meeting with the Philippine Delegation to Hongkong, headed by SEC Chairman
Lilia R. Bautista, offered assistance to the
·
The
AMLAC has its own organizational structure, which includes a Liaison Officer,
to coordinate AMLAC informational and investigation requirements with different
government agencies. This is envisioned to promote efficient and effective
networking among all relevant agencies to enhance information exchange and
facilitation of investigations.
·
The
AMLAC must endeavor to increase frequency of inter-agency meetings to fully
update all concerned with money laundering events, including typologies and
newly-found methods of money laundering.
Database Development
·
The
AMLAC will definitely require a technology infrastructure, which unfortunately,
is not yet in place, but which is envisioned to include a repository of all
information relevant to money laundering.
·
Guidance
and advice will be sought from relevant jurisdictions as to which
infrastructure would best suit the Philippine requirements. Necessarily,
training of personnel will be a composite part of any acquisition of the
technology infrastructure.
Regional Cooperation
·
The
Department of Justice and the Department of Foreign Affairs will be requested
to formulate programs for effective implementation of regional and
international conventions and agreements, as well as extradition treaties.
·
Efforts
will be made to intensify negotiations with concerned countries or
jurisdictions in forging bilateral or multilateral agreements. This initiative
shall be undertaken by the AMLAC.
·
Upon
the advice of FATF member countries, as well as the Asia Pacific Group, of
which the Philippines is a member, the Philippines shall make itself visible by
participating in all regional and international undertakings related to money
laundering, with the ultimate objective of strengthening its money laundering
regime.
·
As
per additional guidance given by our Asia-Pacific neighbors, the
·
Both
public and private sectors are in agreement that there is a need for designing
communication plans and advocacy programs aimed at educating the public on the
importance of money laundering enforcement and implementation. Such plans and
programs will be established and implemented, hopefully, by the time the FATF
has its plenary session in June 2002.
·
While
the AMLA provides for a rewards and incentives system for government reporting,
it was recommended that a similar incentives system be made available as well
to the covered institutions and their personnel. This recommendation will be
relayed to the Congressional Oversight Committee.
·
It
is likewise recognized that a key element in the successful implementation and
enforcement of the AMLA and its IRRs is dissemination and publication of
AMLAC’s efforts towards the prevention of money laundering, which will most
definitely serve as a deterrent against money launderers and their money
laundering activities. Hence, the assistance of the mass media should be sought
in disseminating such information that will serve the purposes of the AMLAC’s
powers and authority.