Anti-launder law won’t be amended

The government has informed an international money laundering watchdog that it would stick to its Anti-Money Laundering Law until the measure actually demonstrates inadequacies that will warrant amendments.

A delegation sent by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Hong Kong this week said the Phi-lippines will first fully implement the law before considering changes based on "what could be unjustified fears."

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Lilia Bautista, who headed the delegation, stressed the Philippines was not being uncooperative.

"I was very emphatic in saying that our laws our sufficient," Bautista said. "They have seen how it operates, we think that the Anti-Money Laundering Law should be given an opportunity to work before touching it."

The FATF, which has yet to remove the Philippines from a list of countries perceived as haven for money launderers, had repeatedly questioned key provisions in the law. The Paris-based task force claimed the range of crimes was too narrow and that the threshold of P4 million to define covered transactions was too high.

Also questioned were the limits imposed by the law on the AMLC’s ability to inquire about or examine deposits or investments.

Bautista was confident that the delegation was able to clarify points raised by the FATF’s Asia-Pacific review group.

"I think we did a good job in clarifying the points they raised," she said. "We told them we have other laws that cover predicate crimes not listed in the law. We explained the threshold issue and assured them that any transaction deemed suspicious could be investigated, regardless of the amount."

The SEC chief said the presentation was only the beginning of a long process of petitioning for removal from the blacklist.

Should the FATF be satisfied with the legislative measures in place, the Philippines will still have to present an implementation plan for further evaluation.

The FATF review team will then submit its recommendations to the 29 member-countries of the FATF, which would ultimately decide on whether to delist the Philippines.

Joining Bautista in the FATF meeting were legal experts from the SEC, the AMLC, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Insurance Commission and representatives from Congress.

Earlier Sen. Francis Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate justice committee, appealed to the task force to fast-track his country’s re-admission to the organization because its economic recovery was endangered by countermeasures already in force.

Pangilinan said he was optimistic the country would soon be delisted.