Marcos orders LGUs, agencies: Fight money laundering

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has ordered concerned government agencies, government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) and local government units (LGUs) to hasten the implementation of strategies to combat money laundering and terrorism financing in the country.

Memorandum Circular No. 37, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin last Monday, stated that there is an “urgent” need to implement the National Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing and Counter-Proliferation Financing Strategy (NACS) 2023-2027.

“The urgent implementation of the NACS 2023-2027, particularly its strategic objective 1, will intensify and expedite efforts to address deficiencies identified by the FATF ICRG,” the memo said, referring to the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force’s International Cooperation Review Group.

The FATF has retained the Philippines on its gray list this year due to the country’s failure to adequately address the gaps to counter money laundering as well as terrorist and proliferation financing.

“As of September 2023, out of 18 ICRG Action Plans, the Philippines must still address eight plans for it to exit the FATF Gray List by January 2024,” the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement yesterday.

MC 37 tasked all agency heads to review and assess their deliverables under the ICRG Action Plan, assign focal persons to complete the deliverables by Nov. 30 and establish a mechanism to monitor the progress of each deliverable.

The National Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Coordinating Committee Secretariat was directed to furnish all concerned agencies of the respective deliverables and office targets under the ICRG Action Plans and other relevant documents, including pertinent NACC resolutions.

The memorandum also directed the Anti-Money Laundering Council to submit to the Office of the Executive Secretary, through the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs, a comprehensive report on the status of the implementation of the NACS 2023-2027, particularly the Strategic Objective 1, on or before Dec. 8.

The implementation of the memorandum circular will be funded through