A joint panel of the Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill seeking to strengthen the existing Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) in an effort to avoid blacklisting by an international organization.
The bicameral conference committee meeting on Tuesday reconciled versions of the measure seeking to expand the list of entities required to report financial transactions to the Anti-Money Laundering Council by including pre-need companies, money changers, real estate agents, and dealers of precious stones and metal among others.
Senator Teofisto Guingona III, sponsor of the bill, told reporters after the meeting that the entities were also supposed to include casinos but that the House panel would not agree to it.
"Casinos are a big gaping hole dun sa money laundering [pero] tinanggal na lang yun...dahil nagkaroon ng deadlock at time is running out therefore kung nagmatigas ng both panels ang resulta niya walang batas. Kung walang batas that will be worse we will be blacklisted for sure," he said.
"It's better to have a law than no law at all," he added, saying that they can push for more amendments in the next Congress.
If Congress fails to pass the measure soon, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) may blacklist the Philippines, which could result in a more stringent processing of financial transactions involving Filipinos and Filipino corporations, including that of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
On Monday, the Senate approved the bill on third and final reading with a vote of 15-0.
But the bicam report will still have to be ratified by both Houses of Congress before it can be submitted to President Benigno Aquino III for signing.
Aside from expanding covered entities, the bill also enumerates additional predicate crimes such as trafficking in persons, bribery, counterfeiting, fraud and other illegal exactions, forgery, malversation, environmental crimes, and terrorism and its financing.
“This bill serves to reinforce our country's Anti-Money Laundering legislative measures and addresses deficiencies in the Philippines' legal framework with regard to anti-money laundering, as stated by the Paris-based FATF,” said Guingona.
Under the AMLA, the crime of money laundering is limited to the transaction of laundered funds and property. It also requires that the accused enter into a contract of sale, donation, or similar transactions before he or she can be made liable.
“With the approval of SBN 3123, we can now go after those who engage in the conversion, transfer, movement, disposal of, possession, use, and concealment or disguise, of the monetary proceeds of a criminal act,” said Guingona. — BM, GMA News
0 comments:
Post a Comment