Marcos POGO ban order a 'big factor' in PH removal from FATF grey list –Palace

The move of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. last year to ban all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in the country contributed to the Philippines' removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, Malacañang said Sunday.

To recall, Marcos, in his third State of the Nation Address in July 2024, banned all POGOs in the country after some were implicated in crimes, including human trafficking, serious illegal detention, and money scams.

“Opo, napakalaking pong naging factor ito (POGO ban) para makita ng FATF ‘yung improvement,” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(The POGO ban was a very big factor in making the FATF’s see the country’s improvement.)

“At lalong-lalo na po, mayroon kasing Executive Order No. 33. Talaga pong inutos ni Pangulong Marcos na dapat maiayos lahat, kung anuman ang rekomendasyon, lahat ng dapat na gawin ay gawin para po matanggal tayo sa grey list kasi malaking pong bagay ito lalong-lalo na sa mga OFWs at sa mga investors,” she added.

(Marcos also issued Executive Order No. 33 so that we can fix everything, including the recommendations, so that the country could be removed from the grey list because this is important for the OFWs and investors.)

EO 33 was issued in 2023, establishing the country's anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and counter-proliferation financing strategy for 2023-2027.

On Saturday, Castro said that the government's efforts and reforms in combating money laundering and terrorism financing also resulted in the Philippines' removal from the FATF grey list.

The FATF's decision to remove the country in its grey list came after an onsite visit from January 20 to 22, during which the Philippines successfully demonstrated compliance with its action plan.

The FATF, an independent organization with 39 members, included the Philippines under increased monitoring or grey list in 2021 during the Duterte administration after the international anti-dirty money watchdog identified 18 deficiencies that the government must address to fight money laundering and terrorism financing.

These include deficiencies in regulatory supervision in gambling operations related to POGOs, weaknesses in the implementation of targeted financial sanctions despite obvious anomalies, and delays in implementing the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 despite huge intelligence confidential funds, according to the PCO. —KG, GMA Integrated News