By Mario B. Casayuran Congress needs to take a long, hard look at gaps in existing Philippine laws, including the Bank Secrecy Law and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, as tens of millions of dollars are being surreptitiously brought into the country by tourists. "The bringing of huge sums of money in and out of the country in past months with seeming impunity indicates the urgent need for action from our government, not just by the Executive but also by the Legislative," Senator Panfilo M. Lacson, chairman of the Senate National Defense and Security Committee, said. Sen. Panfilo Lacson
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) Lacson said authorities should keep up with, if not keep one step ahead of criminals who are trying to do the same. The billions of pesos are being brought in by tourists, mostly Chinese, with ease because of alleged complicity of military, immigration, and customs personnel at the country’s ports. "While there is a need to address the corruption that is one big reason for authorities tolerating money laundering, there is also a need to take a long, hard look at gaps in our existing laws," he stressed. "On the other hand, the amendments to these laws should also make sure that they cannot be ‘weaponized’ for political purposes, speaking from experience," he added. Lacson, a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, recalled that he had been at the receiving end of such abuse of the law by the likes of Ador Mawanay, Mary "Rosebud" Ong, and Victor Corpus, and Arroyos, who prompted him to waive his rights under the Bank Secrecy Law and challenged him to withdraw all the dollars they claimed he owned. "And acting from those experiences, I proposed amendments to the AMLA and filed a bill excluding all public servants from the Bank Secrecy Act," he said.