President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday ordered the adoption of a national strategy on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism in the country.
In Executive Order 68, Duterte ordered his government agencies to adopt the National AML/CFT Strategy 2018-2022.
He said there was a need to “harmonize anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing efforts of relevant government agencies and private stakeholders.”
To ensure the effective implementation of the NACS, Duterte stressed the need to establish a national coordinating committee that would provide “strategic direction.”
The EO will create a National AML/CFT Coordinating Committee, which will facilitate inter-agency coordination focused on the development of national policies on AML/CFT.
The NACC will then provide the policy and strategic direction and oversee the implementation of the NACS, ensure that the roles and responsibilities of relevant government agencies are efficiently and effectively carried out, and promote activities to spread awareness of the NACS, among other things.
The NACC will be headed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea as its chairman and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor and AMLC chairman as its vice chairmen.
Secretaries from government departments such as Finance, Foreign Affairs, Interior and Local Government, Justice, National Defense and Trade and Industry are also under the coordinating committee.
The NACC will also have its sub-committees: Financial Intelligence, Law Enforcement and Prosecution Sub-Committee; Supervision of Financial Institutions Sub-Committee; Supervision of Designated Non-Financial Business and Professions Sub-Committee, Terrorism Financing and Proliferation Financing Sub-Committee; and the AML/CFT Awareness Sub-Committee.
The EO covers all relevant government agencies and instrumentalities to adopt the strategy in the formulation and implementation of all their plans and programs.