Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe M. Medalla is pushing for the immediate passage of four financial-related bills to ensure continued stability of banking and payment systems.
For the 19th Congress, the BSP’s legislative agenda includes: the Bank Deposits Secrecy bill; the proposed Financial Accounts Regulation Act (FARA); the SIM Card Registration bill; and the Digital Payments bill.
“The BSP will work with the 19th Congress on the passage of priority bills that are expected to boost public trust and confidence in the country’s financial and payment systems,” said Medalla on Tuesday, Oct. 4.
The bill that will relax the existing law on bank deposits secrecy or House Bill No. 8991 in the 18th Congress, has been on the BSP’s legislative agenda for several years. In the 18th Congress, the BSP backed HB 8991 to examine bank accounts with suspicious transactions.
As for the proposed FARA, the BSP supports its objecitve of strengthening consumer protection and the imposition of higher penalties for financial cybercrimes. The proposed law seeks to regulate the use of bank accounts and e-wallets, and prevent their use for criminal activities.
Meantime, the SIM Card Registration bill will deter the proliferation of SIM card-aided crimes, such as bank fraud and text scams while the Digital Payments bill is naturally supported by the BSP for the adoption of a “safe, affordable, and efficient digital payments in financial transactions with the government.”
The BSP’s legislative agenda in the 18th Congress resulted in the passage of important measures, such as the Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development Financing Enhancement Act of 2022, the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act, amendments to the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation charter, and the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer Act.
The central bank said the early passage of the proposed Bank Deposits Secrecy bill will be beneficial to the country’s efforts to be delisted from the “dirty money” global watchdog’s “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This is why in 2021, BSP’s push for this bill has been intensified.
Reforms in deposit secrecy will increase efforts to combat domestic and global tax evasion, money laundering, and other financial crimes.
The FATF has put the Philippines back on its list of jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies or the “grey list” on June 25, 2021. Being on the watch list means these jurisdictions are under increased monitoring because they have been found to have strategic deficiencies in efforts to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
As a grey-listed country, the government is committed to resolve as quickly as possible all of the FATF-identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes.
The last time the Philippines was on the FATF “grey list” was in 2013.