(Ipinasusumite sa Senado) REPORT SA PAGKILOS VS FATF GREY LIST

HINILING ni Senadora Grace Poe sa Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) na bigyan ang Senado ng written report kaugnay sa aksiyon at hamon na kinahaharap upang maalis ang Filipinas sa grey list ng Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

“We expect a substantial update from the AMLC on the concrete steps and direction we are taking to ensure progress on our compliance,” ayon kay Poe, chairperson ng Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies.

Ayon sa AMLC, nagawa ng Kongreso ang tungkulin nito upang maresolbahan ang technical deficiencies ng batas sa pamamagitan ng pag-amyenda sa Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) na inisponsor ni Poe.

“Passing the necessary amendments to the law is one of the requirements under the mutual evaluation report which was duly met,” diin ni Poe.

Anang senadora, mahalaga ang pagreporma sa AMLA para sa pagbibigay proteksiyon sa kita ng overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“We should not make it difficult for our OFWs to send hard-earned money to their loved ones. They must be spared of undue costs and delays in their remittances,” ani Poe.

“Higher remittance charges mean less sustenance for the families of OFWs, and a week of delay in receiving the money impacts on the ability of their dependents back home to make both ends meet,” dagdag pa niya.

Ayon kay Poe, mahalaga ang remittance ng OFWs dahil ito ang nagpapaangat sa ekonomiya ng Filipinas kahit sa gitna ng pandemya.

Iniulat ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) na umabot sa $9.9 bilyon ang naipadalang salapi ng Filipino migrant workers mula Enero hanggang Abril ng kasalukuyang taon o mas mataas ng 4.8% sa $9.4 bilyon remittance inflow sa kahalintulad na panahon noong nakaraang taon.

Naunang isinama ng Paris-based anti-money laundering watchdog ang Filipinas sa grey list o bansang pinaigting ang monitoring.

“Failure to implement enhanced due diligence measures could lead to higher interest rates and processing fees, as well as more layers of scrutiny from financial institutions, which could impact on the ordinary Filipinos, including OFWs in sending their remittances,” paliwanag ni Poe.

Aniya, kahit naisama ang Filipinas sa listahan, hindi awtomatikong mahaharap ang bansa sa countermeasure, ngunit  dapat mahigpit na tumupad ang bansa sa kailangang reporma na binigyan ng takdang panahon upang maiwasan ang paghihigpit sa usaping pinansiyal.

“The government must ensure that those who are earning lawfully and legally are not inconvenienced. We cannot afford to deal with more financial challenges as we reel from the brunt of the pandemic,” ayon kay Poe.

Naunang nangako si BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, chairperson ng AMLC, na makikipagtulungan ito sa FATF at Asia Pacific Group patungo sa napapanahong implementasyon ng mga action plan.

“The country’s financial intelligence unit vowed to resolve the remaining strategic deficiencies, which are down to 18 from 70, to be stricken off the grey list,” ayon sa BSP.

Sinabi ni Poe na inaasahan ang AMLC at ilang concerned agencies na ipatupad ang kinakailangang reporma at maipakita ang pagkilos sa pagpapatupad ng pinalakas na anti-money laundering measure.

“The Philippines will make a report to the FATF on its progress three times a year starting this September, optimistic that the country will be taken off the grey list after completion of all action plans in two years,” ayon kay Diokno. VICKY CERVALES