Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has directed “all relevant government agencies” to support the drafting of the “National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism/Proliferation Financing Strategy (NACS) for 2026–2030”.
The news was given in a Thursday statement from the official Philippine Information Agency, citing the presidency.
The statement said updating national anti-money laundering (AML) and combatting the financing of terrorism (CFT) strategy was “critical” as the country prepares for its fourth mutual evaluation process by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) in 2027. Per the update, it will assess the Philippines’ technical compliance with 40 recommendations from the France-based watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
In February last year, Alejandro Tengco, chairman and chief executive of the country’s casino regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), said his agency played a ‘crucial role’ in the country’s exit that month from an FATF ‘grey list’, denoting jurisdictions that needed to do more work regarding money laundering risk.
Before that, the Philippines had been on the watchdog’s grey list since June 2021.
The country’s Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has been directed to provide “technical and administrative support, issue timelines, and monitor compliance,” regarding the 2026-2030 strategy, added Thursday’s update.
The directive encourages government agencies, including government-owned or -controlled corporations – Pagcor being one – and local government units (LGUs), fully to support the AMLC and “actively participate in drafting the updated national strategy”.
