HINILING ni Senador Grace Poe sa Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) na bigyan ang Senado ng written report ukol sa pagkilos at hamon na kinahaharap nito upang maialis ang Pilipinas sa greylist ng Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

“We expect a substantial update from the AMLC on the concrete steps and direction we are taking to ensure progress on our compliance,” ayon kay Poe, chairperson ng Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies.

Sinabi ng AMLC na nagawa ng Kongreso ang tungkulin nito upang maresolba ang technical deficiencies ng batas sa pamamagitan ng pag-amyenda sa Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA), na inisponsor ni Poe.

“Passing the necessary amendments to the law is one of the requirements under the mutual evaluation report which was duly met,” diin ni Poe.

Binigyang diin ng senadora na mahalaga ang AMLA reform sa pagbibigay proteksiyon sa kita ng overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“We should not make it difficult for our OFWs to send hard-earned money to their loved ones. They must be spared of undue costs and delays in their remittances,” ayon kay Poe.

“Higher remittance charges mean less sustenance for the families of OFWs, and a week of delay in receiving the money impacts on the ability of their dependents back home to make both ends meet,” giit niya.

Ayon kay Poe, mahalaga ang remittance ng OFWs dahil ito ang nagpapalutang sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas kahit sa gitna ng pandemya.

Iniulat ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) na umabot sa $9.9 bilyon ang naipadalang salapi ng Filipino migrant workers mula Enero hanggang Abril sa kasalukuyang taon o mas mataas ng 4.8% mula sa $9.4 bilyon remittance inflow noong katulad na panahon ng nakaraang taon.

Naunang isinama ng Paris-based anti-money laundering watchdog ang Pilipinas sa grey list o bansang pinaigting ang monitoring.

“Failure to implement enhanced due diligence measures could lead to higher interest rates and processing fees, as well as more layers of scrutiny from financial institutions, which could impact on the ordinary Filipinos, including OFWs in sending their remittances,” paliwanag ni Poe.

Aniya, kahit naisama ang Pilipinas sa listahan, hindi awtomatikong mahaharap ang bansa sa countermeasure. Ngunit dapat mahigpit na tumupad ang bansa sa kailangang reporma na binigyan ng takdang panahon upang maiwasan ang paghihigpit sa usaping pinansiyal. (DANG SAMSON-GARCIA)