SINUPORTAHAN ni Sen. Cynthia Villar ang mas mataas na threshold para sa real estate buyers at developers sa Pilipinas bilang amyenda sa Republic Act 9160 o ang Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001.
Aniya, susuportahan niya ang naturang batas ngunit hindi ang ikapapahamak ng mahihirap at middle class na siyang maaapektuhan ng proposal kung saan hinihiling sa real estate agents na iulat ang cash transaction na nagkakahalaga ng P1 milyon pataas sa Anti-Money Laundering Council.
“Those buying houses from P1 million to P5 million are not launderers; they are just low-income, middle-income Filipinos trying to own a home. So your provision on housing in the Anti-Money Laundering Act, that’s against the poor and the middle class of the Philippines,” saad ni Villar.
Kamakailan, inihayag ni Senador Grace Poe na nakatakdang isama ang real estate brokers at developers at apat pang amendments sa Anti-Money Laundering Act upang lumakas ang sandata ng pamahalaan laban sa money laundering.
Sa kanyang opening statement sa pagsisimula ng pagdinig ng Senate committee on banks, financial institutions at currencies, sinabi ni Poe na hindi lamang kailangan maipasa ang amendments kundi kailangan din natin magpakita ng nasasalat at positibong progreso sa ating anti-money laundering at counter-terrorist financial regime.
“The country’s financial experts want us to treat this as a form of national economic emergency, the same way we treated the pandemic as a national health emergency,” ayon kay Poe.
Ayon kay Poe, narito ang ilang panukalang amendments sa AMLA: 1. Inclusion of real estate brokers and developers; 2. Inclusion of tax crimes and violations of the Strategic Trade and Management Act relative to financing of weapons of mass destruction; 3. Authorizing the AMLC to implement targeted financial sanctions; 4. Authorizing the AMLC to preserve assets subject of these orders; 5. Prohibition of injunction against the freeze orders and forfeiture powers; at 6. Expansion of the investigative powers of the AMLC to subpoena and contempt powers. (ERNIE REYES)
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