PH working to prevent return to ‘high risk’ dirty money list

DUMAGUETE CITY — The Philippines is now working to avoid a return in the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) anti-dirty money “grey list” of countries under increased monitoring, given the ongoing corruption concerns on flood control projects.

“To be honest, we have a risk of returning to the grey list, although we’re doing what we can to prevent that,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor Eli Remolona Jr. told reporters.

Remolona’s remarks come as lawmakers continue to look into alleged irregularities in public works spending, after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in August disclosed that 20% of the total P545-billion budget for flood control projects went to only 15 contractors, which he described as a “disturbing assessment.”

Such concerns have impacted both government and consumer spending, which have brought gross domestic product (GDP) growth down to 3.0% in the fourth quarter of 2025, the weakest quarterly performance since the 3.8% contraction recorded in the first quarter of 2021 when lockdowns were still in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This brought the full-year 2025 growth to 4.4%, lower than the administration’s already downgraded goal of 5.5% to 6.5%, marking the third straight year that the country has fallen short of achieving its target.

The Philippines exited the grey list in 2025, four years since it was included in 2021, as it demonstrated compliance with its action plan that included measures to address money laundering and terrorism financing.

“This is going to be a long process, so we have time to do what we need to do to show the FATF that we’re doing everything we can. Medyo matagal ang process niyan (The process is quite lengthy),” Remolona, who also chairs the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), said.

“The next evaluation, I think, will be next year, so we have time. We have time to address all of the issues,” he added. —VAL, GMA Integrated News