MANILA, Philippines – Mas lalong tumingkad ang reputasyon ng Pilipinas sa usaping ng paghahabol sa ‘dirty money” nang alisin ang bansa sa listahan ng binabantayan ng Paris=based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), ayon kay Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero.
Sa pahayag, sinabi ni Escudero na nagresulta ito sa pangako ng administrasyon na sinimulan sa panahon ni dating Pangulong Benigno “NoyNoy” Aquino III, na habulin ang dirty money laban sa money laundering.
Ayon kay Escudero, tinanggal ang FATF ang Pilipinas sa watchlist na resulta ng ilang dekada at walang humpay na pagkilos ng ating pamahalaan na maibalik ang pagtitiwala ng buong mundo sa usaping ng pananalapi para sa overseas Filipino workers at gawing mas -kaakit-akit ang ekonomiya bilang ligtas na destinasyon ng pamhunan.
“Being removed from the gray list of the FATF is the culmination of all the efforts of the Philippine government. This sends a strong message to the international community that we are a country that abides by laws and takes the matter of going after financing of criminal elements seriously,” ayon kay Escudero.
Mahigpit na binabantayan ni Escudero ang pagkilos ng bansa na maalis sa watchlist ng FATF.
Noong nagsilbi siya bilang chairman ng Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies nitong 2017, kumilos si Escudero upang maamendahan ang Anti-Money Laundering Act after matapos muntikan nang mailagay ang bansa sa blacklist ng FATF.
Sa panahon na ito isinama ang casino sa sakop ng Anti-Money Laundering Act na inirekomenda ng FATF.
“Since then, we have continuously worked with the FATF to address the remaining obstacles to our removal from its watchlist. We thank President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for making this one of his administration’s priorities, as well as all the National AML/CFT Coordinating Committee led by Executive Lucas Bersamin for seeing this through to the end,” ayon kay Escudero.
Ipinaliwanag pa ni Escudero sa pagbabalik-tanaw na “the inclusion in the FATF’s watchlist made it more difficult for the country to obtain credit and discouraged foreign banks from transacting with their Philippine counterparts. This also meant that the cost of sending money to the Philippines, particularly by OFWs, increased and led to the utilization of non-official channels.”
“It is the reputation of the Philippines in the international community that is at stake here. Now that we have hurdled this long-standing obstacle, we expect to see even more investment inflows into the country, as well as easier and less expensive transactions for our OFWs wherever they are situated,” ayon kay Escudero. Ernie Reyes
