President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday honored the individuals and institutions that helped the Philippines successfully remove itself from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) “grey list.”
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said 42 institutions and 232 individuals from government agencies, financial institutions, private professional associations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) helped improve the country’s internal financial standing.
Among those honored were officials from the Office of the President led by Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin, who is the chairperson of the National Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorism Financing/ Counter-Proliferation Financing Coordinating Committee (NACC).
Certificates of commendation, plaques, and citations of recognition were presented during the Malacañan Palace event.
The following were among the honorees: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Department of Finance (DoF), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Insurance Commission, Office of the Ombudsman, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Other agencies such as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Customs (BOC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) were also honored.
The National Intelligence and Coordinating Agency (NICA), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Supreme Court of the Philippines (SC), and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) were also awarded.
Other awardees were Secretaries Jonvic Remulla (DILG), Jesus Crispin Remulla (DOJ), Maria Cristina Aldeguer-Roque (DTI), and BSP Governor Eli Remolona, Insurance Commissioner Reynaldo Regalado, SEC Chief Executive Officer Emilio Aquino, Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs Analiza Logan, OES Undersecretary Jeffrey Gallardo, and DOJ Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes Andres.
PAOCC Executive Director Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz and PAGCOR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alejandro Tengco were also recognized along with PAGCOR President Wilma Eisma and CEZA Secretary Katrina Ponce Enrile.
President Marcos also honored BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio, SC Court Administrator Raul Villanueva, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr., PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, PCG Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, NICA Director-General Ricardo de Leon, PDEA Director-General Isagani Nerez, NBI Director Jaime B. Santiago, Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Matthew David, and BOC Deputy Commissioner Teddy Raval.
In June 2021, the FATF listed the Philippines in its “grey list” due to a host of reasons, including money laundering from casino junkets and a lack of prosecution of terrorism funding cases.
On Feb. 21, 2025, the FATF, an international anti-money laundering watchdog, announced that it had removed the Philippines from its so-called “grey list” of countries whose financial transactions are heavily scrutinized. | PND
