President Marcos on Monday urged government agencies to implement stronger law enforcement and a resilient financial system to ensure the Philippines never returns to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.
President Marcos credited the Philippines’ FATF grey list exit to unity, strong leadership, and government-wide coordination, highlighting such accomplishment as a testament to the country’s commitment to financial integrity.
“Today marks a victory, but let me be clear: The work is not yet finished. The journey continues. More importantly, we need to exert twice the effort to sustain our progress,” President Marcos said in his speech.
The Chief Executive led the recognition ceremony in Malacañan, honoring the “Champions of the Philippines’ FAFT grey list exit.”
Analysts viewed the country’s exit from the Grey List as reducing requirements for international money transfers, helping attract foreign investments, and making it easier for overseas Filipino workers to send remittances through banks.
The FATF is the global watchdog that sets standards to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
“We must work even harder to institutionalize reforms. We must tighten our enforcement against money laundering and terrorism financing,” the President said.
“We must strengthen our financial system so that it can withstand the more sophisticated and technologically advanced challenges faced by the financial sector.”
President Marcos also emphasized that keeping the Philippines off the grey list for good is now the shared responsibility of the government and the Filipino people.
“As we continue this march forward, let us do so in the spirit of a Bagong Pilipinas—a nation rooted in transparency, accountability, and inclusive development,” President Marcos said, thanking the awardees for their efforts in leading the country’s exit from the grey list.
The President credited the FATF compliance success to Memorandum Circular 37, directing all concerned government agencies to immediately and comprehensively address the country’s remaining International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) Action Plan Items, and the coordinated efforts of government, the private sector, and the judiciary in meeting all action plan items by October 2024. | PND
