RP passes money

RP passes money
laundering bill

AFP
Manila

House of Representatives members have passed a bill to outlaw
money laundering, raising hopes the Philippines will escape
sanctions from industrialized nations, officials said Thursday.

House economic affairs committee chairman Oscar Moreno said
the measure would establish an anti-money laundering unit in the
central bank, which would be empowered to look into suspect
accounts subject to a court order.

The proposed law would limit the scope of crimes covered under
the law to graft, kidnapping and drug trafficking, and for bank
accounts containing deposits of at least five million pesos
(about 98,000 dollars), he said on local television.

Central bank governor Rafael Buenaventura told AFP he now
expected the Senate to pass its version later Thursday so Arroyo
could sign the law on Friday.

"That would mean that we would be able to meet the Sept. 30
deadline and there would be no additional sanctions imposed
pending a review of the law," he said.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) -- a Paris-based anti-
money laundering body set up by the Group of Seven industrialized
countries -- had given the Philippines until Sept. 30 to outlaw
money laundering or face sanctions from its members.

However an opposition legislator warned that the proposed
legislation has been so "watered down" as to risk failing to
satisfy the FATF requirements.

"The senate bill has been so severely watered down that
instead of coming out with a tiger it looks like we're only going
to produce a pussycat," said Senator Sergio Osmena, whose
original version of the bill had listed 31 crimes that would be
subjected to investigation.

"We're leaving such big holes," he said, and suggested that
the emerging legislation would in effect signal that "if you're a
swindler, if you're a robber, if you're engaged in smuggling,
these are not included anymore."

He said many legislators were particularly opposed to
excluding suspected proceeds from tax evasion from the scope of
the proposed law.

Moreno said that he would have preferred the legislation did
not include the need for a court order. But there was a danger
the law would not have been passed at all, increasing risks of
FATF-inspired sanctions.

He also defended the limited number of crimes for which money
laundering investigations may be launched.

"We need to focus on the crimes that the anti-money laundering
group has wanted to us to pursue. These are essentially the
transnational crimes and drug-related crimes," he said.

House banking committee chairman Jaime Lopez said: "Barring
unforeseen events... the president may be able to sign the bill
at the latest by Saturday."