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MANILA, Philippines - Senator Teofisto Guingona III said Tuesday the bill amending the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) is nearing completion in time for the deadline set by the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June.
“We ended up introducing amendments. We will put all the amendments in matrix form to have a good look at [the provisions] and compare,” Guingona said, shortly after the morning regular session ended.
It was barely two hours before the resumption of Day 40 of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona. Guingona said the Senate is rushing the enactment of the amendatory law since the FATF will have its plenary in June.
“We should beat the deadline set by FATF; if not, it will jeopardize our money transactions abroad, including remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs),” Guingona said.
The FATF plenary in June will decide which member country should be blacklisted for failure to expand the scope of its respective anti-money laundering law. Among the accepted amendments came from Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, particularly on the contentious provision to allow the investigation of so-called web of accounts linked to a suspicious account. Opening such a web of accounts should be accompanied by a court order. “Web of accounts may be opened, but should undergo the same procedures [as] the original account being investigated. Meaning, the original account being investigated should only be opened through a court order,” Sotto said.
“The procedures initiated in the original account being investigated should be the same procedures [followed in] another web of accounts. Sa akin tanggap ko na ‘yun [I’ve accepted that amendment],” Guingona said.
Guingona added that expanding the scope of and acts cited in the anti-money laundering law will have to pass scrutiny from lawmakers, since the amendments are controversial.
At Tuesday’s morning session, Sen. Joker Arroyo stressed anew his concern that the expansion of the law is being done recklessly and there is a danger that it will be used for political persecution.
Among the proposed areas sought to be covered in the expansion of the law’s scope are jewelry stores, money changers and real estate business.
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