Getting, staying off the FATF grey list
By 2027, the next mutual evaluation will take place. If we fail, we’re no longer grey-listed; we’re on the blacklist.
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By 2027, the next mutual evaluation will take place. If we fail, we’re no longer grey-listed; we’re on the blacklist.
So, we finally made it off the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list. Good job, a pat on the back, and move on to the next problem.
Getting off that list was no joke. Since 2021, the government has had to kiss old habits goodbye, pass new laws, and prove to the world that the government is serious about stopping money laundering and terror financing.
The FATF, the global gatekeeper fighting dirty money, terror funding, and weapons of mass destruction financing, doesn’t just accept “a promise.” They check, verify, and scrutinize. On 21 February 2025, they finally delisted the Philippines from the embarrassing list.
Celebrations all around. Investors are happy, Overseas Filipino workers are paying less in remittance fees, and bankers are sleeping better at night.
There’s one thing about international watchdogs: they don’t stop watching just because you’re off the list. In fact, they are watching closer now. Because the moment you slip, it’s a whole different level of problem.
The picture forming is disturbing. Our Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), the country’s premier financial watchdog, tracks dirty money, but somebody’s reportedly trying to infiltrate it.
If you’ve seen the 2006 Hollywood film “Inside Man” starring Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster, you’ll recognize the plot — someone on the inside helping a heist happen right under everyone’s noses.
Actor Clive Owen’s character doesn’t break into the bank. He’s already there, working from within, making sure the robbery goes smoothly while everyone focuses on the distraction outside.
A political thriller of this sort is, unfortunately, supposedly happening in real time, with ALMC chair Eli Remolona Jr. being circled and bypassed.
On one side, an oligarch. On the other, the AMLC. In the middle, a constitutional body, three high-ranking government officials. Their mission: to ensure the tycoon’s handpicked candidates fill key AMLC positions. All, interestingly, had interacted with Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators at some point.
That’s the fear. While we’re all busy with traffic, politics, fuel price increases, and daily stress, there’s reportedly a quiet operation to put the “right” people inside the AMLC to protect something or someone, not to steal.
Why target the AMLC? The reason lies in very recent history. Remember the flood control fund scandal up north? Some questionable funds were said to have found their way into a casino.
If the AMLC stops being independent and starts answering to casino interests instead of the law — the FATF will find out. They always do. And when they do, it’s game over.
By 2027, the next mutual evaluation will take place. If we fail, we’re no longer grey-listed. We’re on the blacklist.
That means international banks get nervous. Remittances get flagged. Correspondent banking relationships freeze. Suddenly, sending money from abroad becomes expensive and complicated. Investors vanish. The economy takes a hit. And all those years of hard work? Wasted.
The saddest part? We passed tough laws to get here. The Anti-Terrorism Act and AMLC charter amendments — these weren’t popular, but we swallowed them because they were FATF’s requirements. Now, if institutions get compromised anyway, what a waste!
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Chairman Remolona, you didn’t spend decades in central banking only to end your career watching oligarch-backed officials pick your personnel.
To the officials allegedly involved — a graft fighter, a flood control investigator, a revenue brain — you know better. You’re supposed to be on the side of transparency. If you’re really letting oligarchs’ interests dictate AMLC appointments, when the FATF comes knocking, whose names will be in that report?
For the rest of us, we watch and ask questions. We ought to remember that institutions don’t collapse due to external attacks. They crumble from within — when the people meant to guard them decide to open the gates instead.
Getting off the grey list was hard. Staying off? That’s the real challenge. And the FATF? It is a bloodhound trained to sniff out dirty money.
The Philippines spent years proving we could play by international rules. Now we have to prove we can keep playing by them, without letting dirty money pick the referees.
Get away with “dirty” money? Not if we’re paying attention.
