Photo Release

Marcos' Proposals: Sen. Imee Marcos announces several proposals contained in the bill she has filed, Senate Bill No. 1545 seeking to amend Republic Act No. 9160, otherwise known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) of 2001, during the virtual hearing of the Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies Wednesday, October 28, 2020. Marcos said the proposals include those contained in Section 1of her bill providing for a list of services and persons covered by the measure such as money service businesses, money transfer companies, and offshore gaming operators, among others; Section 3 defining unlawful activities like gambling, human trafficking, arms dealing, tax evasion and violation of banking laws; and Section 5 placing under AMLA custody and authority the cross border physical transport of foreign currency. “We are aware that in the past months, over $200 million had entered the Philippines physically and without any reports to AMLA, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or even the Customs. I had also added a ‘know your customer’ requirement following the huge cyber threat in the United Planters Coconut Bank earlier this year. Finally, I have provided for AMLA a measure of fiscal independence through its retention of 50 percent of the confiscated assets subject to its budgetary limits. This may help AMLA become more effective since we all know that AMLA is strapped for funding as well as staffing,” Marcos said. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)