Malacañang to stop CPP-NPA financiers amid Philippine dirty money grey-listing

Malacañang on Monday said it would stop financiers of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque made the response when asked about measures that the Philippine government plans to take due to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) including the country in its grey list for “under increased monitoring to counter money laundering and terrorist financing.”

The FATF is an international organization that coordinates global efforts to crack down on money laundering and terrorism financing. It said nations on the list are working with it to correct deficiencies in their financial systems.

“Well, obviously po, iyong CPP-NPA na terrorist group, mayroon pa ring pondo, so kinakailangan talaga, isarado natin kung sana nanggagaling iyong mga pondo nila,” Roque said.

(The CPP-NPA has funds, so we need to shut down their fund sources.)

“So, this is also to the benefit of the Republic and we agree that more efforts have to be exerted para talagang mawalan ng pondo iyong mga teroristang iyan,” Roque added.

(We have to do more in depriving them of funding.)

Roque did not give the amount of funding that the CPP-NPA supposedly receives.

Furthermore, the government’s petition to have the CPP-NPA declared a terrorist organization is still pending before the Manila Regional Trial Court.

Roque meanwhile maintained that being grey-listed was not a form of sanction.

“Wala pong countermeasures imposed. Ibig sabihin lang nito – increased monitoring. We have not been put under negative list, but they want to see further improvements,” Roque added.

Bank secrecy, consistency in fight vs. corruption

Meanwhile, Senator Panfilo Lacson on Monday said the country should show consistency in fighting corruption to restore the trust in the Philippines of the FATF and other international financial institutions.

While legislation against money laundering is important, Lacson said consistent implementation of existing laws is key.

"In past years, we have seen a 'selective' implementation of laws. There must be consistency to regain trust. Until the people and the international community see that even perceived political allies are sent to jail for wrongdoings, there will always be that perception that certain influential people are exempt from our justice system," Lacson said.

"One of the reasons we were included in the FATF's gray list in 2012 is that the FATF wanted us to address deficiencies in countering terrorist financing, among others. In response, Congress passed Republic Act 10168 or the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012. This was further enhanced by RA 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. This may, however, call for further measures such as amending our existing Bank Secrecy Act, to address a major source of corruption. What we need is to make it difficult, if not impossible, to hide or launder ill-gotten wealth. This would be a big deal in helping stop corruption," the senator said.

House Ways Means and Panel chair and Albay representative Joey Salceda also said the Philippines should start by amending the Bank Secrecy Law.

Under the existing law, the secrecy of bank deposits under Philippine currency can only be disregarded if it involves public interest.

Bank secrecy for deposits under foreign currency, on the other hand, is absolute.

“Until our Bank Secrecy Law remains absolute, our financial monitoring and anti-money laundering regime will remain suspect. The delay in the passage of this measure is the biggest obstacle to improvements in our standing,” Salceda said in a statement.

“In the Committee on Ways and Means, we have already passed in principle the General Amnesty Act with an attached provision relaxing the Bank Secrecy Law for those who will avail of the amnesty. This is to ensure that those who seek a clean slate from government will not besmirch the same slate again,” Salceda added.

Aside from the Philippines, Haiti, Malta, and South Sudan were placed on a "grey list" of countries under increased monitoring to counter money laundering and terrorist financing by the FATF.

In response to this, the Anti-Money Launderig Council reaffirmed its commitment to the timely implementation of action plans agreed under the International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) to adequately address all anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing deficiencies of the country.

The action plans include:

•    the amendment and passage of AML/CTF laws;
•    enhancement of the AML/CTF supervisory framework;
•    reinforcement of money laundering and terrorism financing investigation and prosecution; and
•    campaigns to increase public awareness

— DVM/KG, GMA News