The Philippine National Police (PNP) has signed a number of agreements with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) as part of the move to cripple the operational capability of various terror groups in the country.
PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar the move is also aimed at removing the Philippines from the "gray list" of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Founded in 1989, the FATF is an inter-governmental organization to develop policies to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
Eleazar pointed out that for its part, the PNP has entered a number of agreements with the AMLC for the effective enforcement of Republic Act 10168 or the “Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012.”
“Terrorism financing is a scourge on our country and the Filipino people. We need to always be on alert and come up with measures to stop the flow of money to these terrorist groups who would use these funds to carry out possible attacks,” Eleazar said.
In February this year for instance, Eleazar said the PNP and AMLC signed a memorandum of agreement to solidify coordination and boost efforts in enforcing provisions of R.A. 10168. The MOA between the PNP and AMLC provides for the establishment of a center at Camp Crame which will serve as an information-sharing hub between the two agencies.
“This is in addition to the past individual memorandums of agreement entered into by AMLC with various PNP offices and units to beef up the campaign against terrorist financing,” Eleazar said.
“The center enables us to efficiently exchange information and intelligence, maximize resources, streamline operations, and improve capabilities to fight money laundering, terrorist financing, and other crimes,” he added.
Eleazar expressed confidence that inter-agency programs and efforts against terrorist financing and money laundering would soon bear fruit.
“With these efforts and activities with AMLC, the PNP anticipates that we will be able to reach our target to exit the said gray list by January, 2023," said Eleazar.