Money laundering, a criminal practice that is widespread in the world, is the

act of concealing money that has been obtained unlawfully by making it seem as
though it has come from legitimate sources. By exploiting the services of banks,
money remittance centers, and commercial establishments like casinos, money is
laundered when it is moved from one region of the world to another. The appearance
of legitimacy is obtained by integrating the illegal funds into legal transactions of the
institutions being used. The main activities that drive money laundering are
corruption, organized crime, smuggling, financial fraud, and arms dealing. These
activities result in financial flows that involve the redirection of resources away from
economically and socially beneficial purposes; these redirections may have
detrimental effects on the financial system and the international stability of member
nations. Additionally, they have a destructive, corrupting impact on society and the
economy.
The Philippines is particularly prone to money laundering and terrorism
funding due to its expanding economy and advantageous location along important
trafficking routes. Additionally, recent advancements in the online gaming sector are
linked to increased danger. Two of the most typical methods used by criminals to get
income are bribery and sex trafficking. Terrorist organizations operating in the
Philippines make money through the trafficking of weaponry, cocaine, and
kidnapping for ransom.
In the 2017 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (the "Report")
identifies the Philippines as a "major money-laundering country”. The said report
concludes that “money laundering is a serious concern due to [the] international
narcotics trade, alleged high degree of corruption among government officials,
trafficking in persons, and the high volume of remittances from Filipinos living
abroad. Criminal groups use the Philippine banking system, commercial enterprises,
and particularly casinos, to transfer drug money and other illicit proceeds from the
Philippines to offshore accounts.”( 2017 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report -
United States Department of State)
In the Philippines, among those who seek to disguise the illegal proceeds of
their crimes (money launderers) are drug traffickers, terrorists, corrupt public
officials, and organized criminal groups. Some criminals fund terrorists or carry out
terroristic crimes using the banking system. Thus, if money laundering operations
are not strictly reported to the appropriate government authorities, this might very
well indicate that the country is going towards a destabilized government and a
crippled financial system. These crimes, as well as those underlying crimes that
generate money laundering activity can threaten not only the stability of a country’s
financial sector but also a country’s external stability more generally. This, in turn,
can affect law and order, good governance, regulatory effectiveness, foreign
investments and international capital flows.
To address these, the Philippine Government made efforts to combat money
laundering in the country. The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, or R.A., No. 9160
has been introduced by the government, which makes jueteng and masiao, fraud,
smuggling, high seas piracy, terrorist acts, securities fraud, robbery and extortion,
looting, abduction for ransom, graft, corruption, and narcotics offenses illegal. The
Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001 (AMLA) is the main anti-money laundering
statute in the Philippines. To safeguard financial institutions and discourage criminals
from utilizing the Philippines as a money-laundering destination. AMLA empowers
law enforcement to investigate into money laundering and other financial crimes.
The Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorism Financing Commission
(AMLC) is the main organization in charge of Philippines' central anti-money
laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) authority. Consequently, it acts as
the country's major anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing law
enforcement agency, financial intelligence division, and AML/CTF administrator and
manager.
The government’s efforts in implementing and continuing in strengthening the
law was made in the aim of safeguarding and maintaining the dignity of the
Philippine financial system, including bank account security. Aside from this, it also
seeks to prevent the Philippines from being used as a money-laundering base for the
profits of illegal activities. Furthermore, the law also intends to expand participation in
global criminal investigations of individuals engaging in money laundering operations
where they are conducted according to Philippine foreign policy.
Various reports shows that money laundering was done in aim to finance
terrorists and terrorist groups. Such activities that take place in one nation might
have negative cross-border and even international repercussions. For those who
finance terrorism and money laundering, jurisdictions with lax or ineffective
restrictions are particularly alluring. To end these activities, AML/CTF also
implements the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012
(TFPSA) in addition/support to the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, which made
terrorism funding a crime against the Filipino people, civilization, and international
law. These endeavors gave the government, especially the law enforcement
agencies to strengthen their grounds in the fight against terrorism.
On the other hand, despite the government’s efforts in combating money
laundering and terrorist financing, there are still loopholes in the Anti-money
Laundering Act of 2001 like the in-inclusion of casinos and more. Thus, further
amendments to strengthen the law was made. The latest amendment was made and
took effect last February 2022.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council and the Philippine National Police joined
hands to enhance their efforts against money launderers and terrorist financing
activities in the country. In this joint effort, the PNP will develop law enforcement
plans, policies, projects, programs, and activities to further improve the methods in
the fight against such crimes. To make these possible, a MOA was signed by the
former PNP Chief Gen. Debold Sinas and AMLC executive director Mel Georgie
Racela fully operationalize the newly completed PNP-AMLC Fusion Center inside
the PNP Headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City last February 2022. The center
will act as a focal point for information exchange between the PNP and the AMLC,
maximizing resources, streamlining operations, and enhancing the PNP and the
AMLC's capacity to combat money laundering, terrorist funding, and other crimes by
combining data from various sources. The offices of the Intelligence Group (IG),
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Anti-Kidnapping group (AKG),
and Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group are included in the interfusion.
Personnel of the Philippine National Police were also undergoing continuous
capability enhancement trainings regarding financial investigation and data sharing.