MANILA, Philippines — After successfully exiting the Financial Action Task Force gray list, the Philippines is ramping up efforts to ensure it does not face another compliance setback in the next FATF evaluation scheduled in 2027, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
Speaking at the Tuesday Club, BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said that while the country’s delisting from the FATF gray list last month marked a significant milestone, the work is far from over.
“Now, just because we are off the gray list does not mean that we are done. We have to make sure we do not get back into the gray list,” he said.
“In the past, we went in, we went out. This time, we are determined to stay out of the gray list,” the BSP chief said.
According to Remolona, it is important to strengthen the country’s national risk assessment and evaluate vulnerabilities across the economy that could lead to money laundering and terrorism financing risks.
The next FATF mutual evaluation is scheduled for 2027. The Philippine government aims to pass it without returning to the gray list, Remolona said.
“I hope we can stay out of the gray list. We are determined to stay out of the gray list,” he added.
The Paris-based global dirty money watchdog placed the Philippines on the gray list in 2021.
However, Remolona noted that efforts to strengthen anti-money laundering measures date back to 2016, following the $81-million Bangladesh Bank heist that exposed loopholes in the Philippines’ financial system.
In response, the FATF issued 18 action items that the Philippines needed to address to meet global standards. These included stricter oversight of money service businesses, casino junkets, and designated non-financial businesses such as law firms and accountants.
The FATF also required proof of high-level commitment to reforms. Remolona cited the government’s crackdown on Philippine offshore gaming operators as a key demonstration of this commitment, even though it was not on the FATF’s original list of required actions.
By October 2024, the FATF determined that the Philippines had met all the action items.
Remolona earlier told The STAR that a validation team visited the country in January.
The final decision was made during the FATF Plenary in Paris in February, wherein the Philippines’ removal from the gray list was unanimously approved.
“The good news from last month was not the end of a four-year ordeal; it was actually the end of a nine-year ordeal if you count from 2016,” Remolona said.
The FATF even recognized the Philippines’ reforms and positioned the country as a regional leader in tackling money laundering and terrorism financing. The Philippines has been asked to provide evaluators for other gray-listed nations in Asia.
The BSP chief said the country’s exit is expected to renew investor confidence and restore correspondent banking relationships, particularly benefiting overseas Filipino workers by making remittances and bank transactions smoother.
Remolona also noted that the peso’s movement before and after the delisting reflected anticipation of increased foreign investments.
“It makes it easier for foreign banks to deal with our banks,” he said.