President Marcos is committed to addressing the issues inherited from the previous administration, particularly in addressing money laundering and terrorism financing issues, Malacañang said.

"Kakayanin natin, lalo na ng Pangulo, na linisin ang mga kalat na naiwan sa atin ng nakaraang administrasyon (We can do it, especially the President, to clean up the mess left by the previous administration)," Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a video statement on Saturday morning, March 1.

In her video, Castro said that one of the major challenges faced by the Marcos administration was removing the Philippines from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist, which was finally achieved last week.

The FATF is an independent organization composed of 39 members that sets international standards to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

"Hindi titigil ang ating Pangulo na maisaayos at mapigil ang mga gawain may kinalaman sa money laundering at terrorist financing (Our President will not stop working to address and prevent activities related to money laundering and terrorist financing)," she said.

According to Castro, the Philippines was placed on the FATF greylist in June 2021 during the Duterte administration due to regulatory weakness in gambling operations, failure to implement financial sanctions, and delays in enforcing the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

"Tandaan natin namayagpag ang mga POGO noon (Let us remember that Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators were rampant back then)," she pointed out.

She also claimed that regulator agencies at the time seemed to have ignored these issues, especially the supposed financial anomalies during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

To correct these shortcomings, Castro recalled that President Marcos issued Executive Order (EO) No. 33, which directed government agencies to take immediate action to remove the country from the FATF greylist.

"Napakalaking accomplishment po ito ng ating Pangulo na matanggal nga ang bansa sa greylist (Removing the country from the FATF is a great accomplishment of the President)," she said.

"Nakita ng FATF ang improvements ng Pilipinas patungkol sa money laundering and terror financing controls (The FATF recognized the country's improvements in terms of money laundering and terror financial controls)," she added.

Castro raised the significance of this development, noting its benefits for the economy and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

"Kapagpo  ang bansa ay nailista sa greylist, mahihirapan po ang ating mga OFW sa kanilang mga remittances pati na po ang transaksyon pinansyal ng bawat isa o ng bansa ay maaari pong hindi payagan (If a country is placed on the greylist, OFWs will have difficulty with their remittances, and financial transactions may not be allowed)," she explained.

She added that being removed from the said list would make it easier for the country to attract foreign investors and lower remittance fees for OFWs.