Republic of the Philippines

House of Representatives

Quezon City, Metro Manila

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 4786

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE Aurelio “Dong” D. Gonzales, Jr.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Money laundering is often said to be a process by which large amount of
illegally obtained money is given the appearance of having originated from a
legitimate source. In simple terms, it is the conversion of black money into white
money. The illegal or dirty money is put through a cycle of transactions or washed,
so that it comes out the other end as legal, or clean money.

Indeed, global attention has been focused on the entire concept of money
laundering and has recognized it as a source of the funding not only of terrorist
activities but criminal organizations, as well. The rapid advances in technology, the
globalization process, and the revolution of telecommunications have certainly made
crime increasingly international in scope, and the financial aspects of crime have
become multi-faceted and intricate. Definitely, this has overwhelming social
consequences and poses a danger to the security of any country be it developed or
developing. The illegally obtained money fueled to terrorists groups, illegal arms
dealers, drug dealers and criminal syndicates should continuously be curtailed.

The amendments to the existing Republic Act No. 9160", otherwise known as
the “Anti-money Laundering Act of 2001 (AMLA), proposed in this measure will
definitely be more effective in combating money laundering and is all-inclusive and
comprehensive to make it compliant with the Financial Action Task Force (FAFT)
Forty recommendations.

"As amended by Republic Act No. 9194, 10167 and 10365,


Among the major amendments to be introduced are as follows: (1) To include
casinos, real estate brokers, art dealers, and motor vehicle dealers as covered
persons; (2) To change of nomenclature for the covered person “jewelry dealers” in
precious metals and stones to “dealers” in precious metals and stones, and including
jewelry dealers as a separate covered persons; (3) To provide for a definition of
covered transactions as ‘cash’ transactions amounting to PhP500,000 only; (4) To
designate the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as the Supervising Authority of foreign
exchange dealers, money changers, and remittance and money transfer businesses,
for purposes of the AMLA; (5) To include new unlawful activities under Section 3(i) of
the AMLA, such as violations of firearms and ammunitions regulation act,
cybercrime, violations of strategic trade management act (regarding weapons of
mass destruction), and tax evasion; (6) To grant the AMLC the power to issue ex
parte freeze order with respect to some unlawful activities; (7) To authorize the
AMLC to check compliance with the AMLA by covered persons not under any
Supervising Authority; (8) To grant the AMLC the power to issue subpoena and
administer oath in aid of its investigation and compliance checking functions; (9) To
update the requirement on customer identification to include all aspects of customer
due diligence; and (10) To authorize the covered persons to temporarily withhold
transaction and/or withhold subsequent transactions not exceeding two (2) banking
days from occurrence of the transaction, in the course of verifying whether a
transaction is suspicious or not; and terminate the transaction or account in case
they find reasonable belief that there is possible violation of the AMLA.

These are but some of the amendments proposed in this measure that will
help to effectively combat money laundering. Certainly, the significance of the
enactment of anti-money laundering laws has been globally recognized as it impacts
‘on the economic stability of the country. The amendments introduced herein are but
imperative and well-grounded for an inclusive growth of the country.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought for.

. Gonzales, Jr.
Representative
3rd District, Pampanga


Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives

Quezon City, Metro Manila

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

786
HOUSE BILL No.

AN ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NUMBER 9160, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “THE.
ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING ACT OF 2001”, AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT
NUMBERS 9194, 10167 and 10365, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

SECTION 1. Section 3(a) of Republic Act No. 9160, as amended, is hereby amended as follows:
(a) “Covered Persons’, natural or juridical, refer to:

(1) _ banks, non-banks, quasi-banks, trust entities, foreign exchange
dealers, pawnshops, money changers, remittance and transfer
companies and other similar entities and all other persons and
their subsidiaries and affiliates supervised or regulated by the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

(2) insurance companies, pre-need companies and all other
persons supervised or regulated by the Insurance Commission
(ic);

(3) (i) securities dealers, brokers, salesmen, investment houses
and other similar persons managing securities or rendering
services as investment agent, advisor, or consultant, (ii)
mutual funds, close-end investment companies, common trust
funds and other similar persons, and (iii) other entities
administering or otherwise dealing in currency, commodities
or financial derivatives based thereon, valuable objects, cash
substitutes and other similar monetary instruments or property
supervised or regulated by Securities and Exchange
Commission and Exchange Commission (SEC);


(4) MONEY SERVICE BUSINESS OR MONEY TRANSFER
COMPANIES;
(5) TRUST AND Company service providers - WHEN THEY
PREPARE FOR OR CARRY OUT TRANSACTIONS
FOR A CLIENT CONCERNING THE FOLLOWING
ACTIVITIES: (i) acting as a formation agent of juridical
persons; (ii) acting as (or arranging for another person to act
as) a director or corporate secretary of a company, a partner of
a partnership, or a similar position in relation to other juridical
persons; (iii) providing a registered office, business address or
accommodation, correspondence or administrative address for
a company, a partnership or any other legal persons or
arrangement; (iv) acting as (or arranging for another person to
act as) a nominee shareholder for another person; AND (V)
ACTING AS (OR ARRANGING FOR ANOTHER
PERSON TO ACT AS) A TRUSTEE OF AN EXPRESS
TRUST OR PERFORMING THE EQUIVALENT
FUNCTION FOR ANOTHER FORM OF LEGAL
ARRANGEMENT;
(6) Persons, who provide any of the following services:
(i) managing of client money, securities or other assets;
(ii) management of bank, savings or securities accounts;
(iii) organization of contributions for the creation,
operation or management of companies; and
(iv) creation, operation or management of juridical persons
or arrangements, and buying and selling business
entities.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “covered persons”
shall exclude lawyers [and accountants acting as independent
legal professionals] acting in relation to information
concerning their clients or where disclosure of information
would compromise the attorney-client relationship; provided,
that THEY are authorized to practice in the Philippines.
() DEALERS OF PRECIOUS STONES, JEWELS AND/OR
PRECIOUS METALS;
(8) DEALERS OF HIGH- VALUE ITEMS OR GOODS;
(9) REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS, BROKERS AND SALES
AGENT; AND
(10) CASINOS, INCLUDING INTERNET AND SHIP-BASED
CASINOS, AND CHIPWASHING OR JUNKET
OPERATORS, WITH RESPECT TO THEIR
FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS RELATED TO THEIR
GAMING OPERATIONS.
SECTION 2. Section 3(b) of the same Act shall have a new paragraph, as follows:
(B) “Covered Transaction” REFERS TO:
(1) TRANSACTION IN CASH EXCEEDING FIVE HUNDRED
THOUSAND PESOS (PHP500,000.00); AND



BAND);
SECTION 3. Section 3(b-1) of the same Act IS HEREBY AMENDED, as follows:
(B-1) “Suspicious Transactions” are transactions regardless of the amounts involved,
where:
XXX
6. THE COVERED PERSON SUSPECTS OR HAS
REASONABLE GROUND TO SUSPECT THAT THE
MONETARY INSTRUMENT OR PROPERTY IS THE
PROCEEDS OF OR IS IN ANY WAY related to a PREDICATE
OFFENSE under this act that is about to be, is being or has been
committed; or
7. THERE ARE CIRCUMSTANCES DETERMINED TO BE
SUSPICIOUS BY THE ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING
COUNCIL (AMLC).
SECTION 4. Section 3(i) of the same Act is hereby amended as follows:
(i) [Unlawful Activity”|}PREDICATE OFFENSE’ refers to any act or
omission or series or combination thereof involving or having direct
relation to the following

9.98.5
(6) Illegal gambling under Presidential Decree No. 1602, AS
AMENDED.
XXX

(19) Violations of Sections 4 to 6 of Republic Act No. 9208,
otherwise known as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003,
AS AMENDED;

(26) Violations of REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10591, OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS THE COMPREHENSIVE FIREARMS AND
AMMUNITION REGULATION ACT; [Violations of
Sections 1, 3 and 5 of Presidential Decree No. 1866, as
amended, otherwise known as the decree Codifying the Laws on
Illegal/Unlawful Possession, Manufacture, Dealing In,
Acquisition or Disposition of Firearms, Ammunition or
Explosives]

XXX

(33) VIOLATIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10175,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE CYBERCRIME
PREVENTION ACT OF 2012;

(34) VIOLATIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10697,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE STRATEGIC TRADE
MANAGEMENT ACT;

(35) VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTER Il, TITLE X OF THE
NATIONAL INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF 1997, AS
AMENDED; AND


(36) FALSIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS UNDER ARTICLES
171 AND 172 OF THE REVISED PENAL CODE, AS
AMENDED;
(7) VIOLATIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8484,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ACCESS DEVICES
REGULATION ACT OF 1998;
(38) VIOLATIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10173,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE DATA PRIVACY ACT OF
2012;
(39) VIOLATIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8791,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE GENERAL BANKIN
LAW;
(40) VIOLATIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7653,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE NEW CENTRAL BANK
ACT, AS AMENDED;
(41) VIOLATIONS OF THE INSURANCE CODE OF THE
PHILIPPINES, AS AMENDED.
(42) Fraudulent practices and other violations under Republic Act
No. 8799, otherwise known as the Securities Regulation Code
of 2000; and
(43) Felonies and offenses of a similar nature that are punishable
under the penal laws of other counties.
(44) ACTS OR OMISSIONS THAT ARE INSTRUMENTAL IN
THE COMMISSION OF PREDICATE OFFENSES AND
RESULTING IN MONEY LAUNDERING OF THE
ILLEGAL PROCEEDS THEREOF.
SECTION 4. Section 3 of the same Act shall have new paragraphs (1), (m) (n), (0), (p), (q) and
(0.

w “DEALER/S” REFERS TO ANY PERSON ENGAGED IN THE
BUSINESS OF BUYING, SELLING OR EXCHANGING ITEMS OR GOODS,

FOR PROFIT OR GAIN, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, INCLUDING BY
CONSIGNMENT.

(m) “HIGH-VALUE ITEMS OR GOODS” REFERS TO THE FOLLOWI
GOODS OR ITEMS THE VALUE OF WHICH EXCEEDS ONE MILLION
PESOS (P1,000,000.00):

MOTOR VEHICLES, INCLUDING AIR, WATER AND LAND
VEHICLES;

ART AND ANTIQUES
OTHER LUXURY ITEMS, SUCH AS JEWELRY, WATCHES,
BAGS
(n) “CASINO” REFERS TO A BUSINESS AUTHORIZED BY THE
APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT AGENCY TO ENGAGE IN GAMING
OPERATIONS.

@ “INTERNET-BASED CASINO” SHALL REFER TO CASINOS
IN WHICH PERSONS PARTICIPATE BY THE USE OF REMOTE
COMMUNICATION FACILITIES SUCH AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
INTERNET, TELEPHONE, TELEVISION, RADIO OR ANY OTHER



KIND OF ELECTRONIC OR OTHER TECHNOLOGY FOR
FACILITATING COMMUNICATION.
(ii) “SHIP-BASED CASINO” SHALL REFER TO CASINOS, THE
OPERATION OF WHICH IS UNDERTAKEN ON BOARD A VESSEL,
SHIP, BOAT OR ANY OTHER WATER-BASED CRAFT WHOLLY OR
PARTLY INTENDED FOR GAMBLING.
(0) “CHIPWASHING OR JUNKET OPERATOR” REFERS TO ANY
PERSON WHO BRINGS A PERSON, A GROUP OF PERSONS, OR JUNKET
PLAYER/S IN THE CASINO PREMISES TO PARTICIATE IN THE
GAMING OPERATIONS.
(p) “GAMING OPERATIONS” REFERS TO THE ACTIVITIES OF THE
CASINO, OR CHIPWASHING OR JUNKET OPERATORS OFFERING
GAMES OF CHANCE AND ANY VARIATIONS THEREOF APPROVED BY
THE SUPERVISING AUTHORITY.
(q) “CASINO PREMISES” REFERS TO THE PLACE OR SPACE WHERE
GAMING OPERATIONS TAKES PLACE AS AUTHORIZED BY THE
SUPERVISING AUTHORITY.
(r) “JUNKET PLAYER” REFERS TO FOREIGN-PASSPORT HOLDING
PLAYERS WHO WERE SPECIFICALLY BROUGHT INTO THE
PHILIPPINES BY CASINO OPERATORS OR ITS THIRD-PARTY
CHIPWASHING OR JUNKET OPERATOR TO PLAY IN THE CASINO
PREMISES.
SECTION 5. Section 7 of the same Act is hereby amended as follows:
SEC.7. Creation of Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). ~ x x x The AMLC
shall act unanimously in the discharge of its functions as defined hereunder:
re ge
(2) to issue orders addressed to the appropriate Supervising
‘Authority or the covered person to determine the true identity of the
owner of any monetary instrument or property subject of a covered
transaction or suspicious transaction report or request for assistance
from a foreign State, or believed by the Council to be, in whole or in
part, wherever located, representing, involving, or related to, directly
or indirectly, in any manner or by any means, [the proceeds of an
unlawful activity) a PREDICATE OFFENSE, OR MONEY
LAUNDERING, NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 1405, AS AMENDED, REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 6426, AS AMENDED; REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8791;
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10173 AND OTHER LAWS;
XXX
(5) to investigate, THROUGH THE AMLC SECRETARIAT,
suspicious transactions and covered transactions deemed suspicious,
POSSIBLE money laundering activities, and other violations of this
Act MOTU PROPIO, OR UPON COMPLAINT OR REQUEST
OF APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OR AGENCY,
OR BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT, OR FOREIGN STATE OR
AUTHORITY;

Xxx


SECTION 6.
follows:

(6) to FILE, DIRECTLY OR THROUGH THE OFFICE OF
THE SOLICITOR GENERAL, before the Court of Appeals AN ex
parte [for the freezing of] PETITION FOR ISSUANCE OF
FREEZE ORDER, OR, IN CASES SPECIFIED UNDER
SECTION 10 HEREOF, TO ISSUE EX PARTE FREEZE
ORDER, AGAINST any monetary instrument or property, alleged to
be laundered, proceeds from, or instruments used in, or intended for
use in, OR IN ANY WAY RELATED to ANY PREDICATE
OFFENSE [any unlawful activity] as defined in Section 3(i) hereof,
(7) to implement such measures as may be necessary and justified
under this Act to counteract OR PREVENT money laundering, AND
ENSURE COMPLIANCE AND EFFECTIVE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS ACT.

xxx
(10) to enlist the assistance of any branch, department, bureau,
office, agency or instrumentality of the government including
government-owned and controlled corporations, in undertaking any
and all anti-money laundering operations, AND ENSURING
COMPLIANCE AND EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF
THIS ACT, which may include the use of its personnel, facilities and
resources [for the more resolute prevention, detection and
investigation of money laundering offenses and prosecution of
offenders];
Section 7 of the same Act shall have new paragraphs (13), (14),

(13) TO SUBPOENA ANY PERSON AND COMPEL HIS
ATTENDANCE TO PRODUCE INFORMATION, BOOKS,
PAPERS, DOCUMENTS, OBJECTS, DATA, AND OTHER
RELEVANT INFORMATION OR TO GIVE STATEMENT,
UNDER OATH, FOR PURPOSES OF VERIFICATION,
INVESTIGATION, OR CHECKING COMPLIANCE WITH
THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT. ANY INVESTIGATING
OFFICER OF THE AMLC SECRETARIAT MAY ADMINISTER
OATH OR AFFIRMATION TO ANY PERSON APPEARING
BEFORE IT.

(14) TO REQUIRE THE SUBMISSION OF CROSS-BORDER
DECLARATION ON PHYSICAL TRANSPORT OF
CURRENCIES AND BEARER NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS.
(15) TO SET OR AMEND THRESHOLDS PROVIDED FOR
UNDER THIS LAW BASED ON INTERNATIONAL ANTI-
MONEY LAUNDERING/COMBATTING FINANCING OF
TERRORISM STANDARDS AND THE RESULTS OF
REGULAR NATIONAL RISK ASSESSMENT ON MONEY
LAUNDERING AND TERRORISM FINANCING.

(16) TO CHECK COMPLIANCE WITH THIS ACT BY
COVERED PERSONS NOT UNDER ANY SUPERVISING
AUTHORITY.

and (15) as


SECTION 7. Section 9 of the same Act is hereby amended as follows:

(a) CUSTOMER [Identification] DUE DILIGENCE.

(1) Covered persons shall establish and record the true
identity of THEIR customers based on official documents,
OR RELIABLE AND INDEPENDENT SOURCES,
DOCUMENTS, DATA OR INFORMATION. They shall
maintain a system of verifying the true identity of their clients
and, in case of corporate clients, require a system of verifying
their legal existence and organizational structure, as well as
the authority and identification of all persons purporting to act
on their behalf. THEY SHALL ALSO ASSESS AND, IF
APPROPRIATE, OBTAIN INFORMATION ON THE
PURPOSE AND NATURE OF THE TRANSACTION.
COVERED PERSONS SHALL, LIKEWISE, CONDUCT
ONGOING MONITORING ON THEIR CUSTOMERS,
DEPENDING ON THE RISK ASSESSMENT.

(2) The provisions of existing laws to the contrary
notwithstanding, anonymous accounts, accounts under
fictitious names, and all other similar accounts shall be
absolutely prohibited.

(3) Peso and foreign currency non-checking numbered accounts
shall be allowed. The BSP may conduct annual testing solely
limited to the determination of the existence and true identity
of the owners of such accounts.

(b) RECORD KEEPING. - All records of all transactions of covered
persons shall be maintained and safely stored for [Five (5)] TEN (10)
years from the dates of transactions, With respect to closed accounts,
the records on customer identification, account files and business
correspondence, shall be preserved and safely stored for at least [Five
(5)] TEN (10) years from the dates when they were closed.

(c) REPORTING OF COVERED AND SUSPICIOUS
TRANSACTIONS. - Covered persons shall report to the AMLC all
covered transactions end suspicious transactions within five (5)
working days from occurrence thereof, unless the AMLC prescribes a
different period not exceeding fifteen (15) working days.

Lawyers [and accountants acting as independent legal professionals]
are not required to report covered and suspicious transactions if the
relevant information was obtained in circumstances where they are
subject to [professional secrecy or] legal professional privilege.
Should a transaction be determined to be both a covered transaction
and a suspicious transaction, the covered person shall report the same
as a suspicious transaction.

(c-1) When reporting covered or suspicious transactions to the
AMLC, covered persons and their officers and employees shall not be
deemed to have violated Republic Act No. 1405, as amended,
Republic Act No. 6426, as amended, Republic Act No. 8791 and other
similar laws, but are prohibited from communicating, directly or
indirectly, in any manner or by any means, to any person, the fact that


a covered or suspicious transaction report was made, the contents
thereof, or any other information in relation thereto, EXCEPT
WHEN DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IS IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE SUPERVISORY AUTHORITIES?
EXERCISE OF SUPERVISORY POWERS. In case of violation
thereof, the concerned officer and employee of the covered person
shall be criminally liable. However, no administrative, criminal or
civil proceedings, shall lie against any person for having made a
covered or suspicious transaction report in the regular performance of
his duties in good faith, whether or not such reporting results in any
criminal prosecution under this Act or any other law.

When reporting covered or suspicious transactions to the AMLC,
covered persons and their officers and employees are prohibited from
communicating directly or indirectly, in any manner or by any means,
to any person or entity, the media, the fact that a covered or
suspicious transaction has been reported or is about to be reported, the
contents of the report, or any other information in relation thereto,
EXCEPT WHEN DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION IS IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THE SUPERVISORY AUTHORITIES?
EXERCISE OF SUPERVISORY POWERS. Neither may such
reporting be published or aired in any manner or form by the mass
media, electronic mail, or other similar devices. In case of violation
thereof, the concerned officer and employee of the covered person
and media shall be held criminally liable.

(c-2) IN THE COURSE OF VERIFYING WHETHER A
TRANSACTION IS SUSPICIOUS OR NOT, A COVERED
PERSON MAY TEMPORARILY WITHHOLD SAID
TRANSACTION AND/OR SUBSEQUENT TRANSACTIONS
FOR A PERIOD NO LONGER THAN FIVE (5) WORKING
DAYS FROM OCCURRENCE OF THE TRANSACTION. THE
COVERED PERSON SHALL IMMEDIATELY REPORT TO
THE AMLC THAT IT HAD TEMPORARILY WITHHELD A
TRANSACTION AND/OR SUBSEQUENT TRANSACTIONS
AND THAT IT IS CONDUCTING VERIFICATION THEREOF.
UPON REASONABLE BELIEF THAT THERE IS POSSIBLE
VIOLATION OF THIS ACT, THE COVERED PERSON MAY
TERMINATE THE TRANSACTION OR ACCOUNT
CONNECTED THERETO. THE AUTHORITY TO
TEMPORARILY WITHHOLD A TRANSACTION SHALL BE
MADE PART OF THE COVERED PERSON'S INTERNAL
POLICY AND IT SHALL INCLUDE GUIDELINES AND
EFFECTIVE CONTROLS TO PREVENT ABUSE.

COVERED PERSONS, THEIR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS AND
EMPLOYEES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY ACTION,
CLAIM OR DEMAND IN THE EXERCISE OF THEIR
AUTHORITY UNDER THIS PROVISION, PROVIDED THAT,
IT WAS EXERCISED IN THE REGULAR PERFORMANCE
OF THEIR DUTIES, IN GOOD FAITH AND IN



SECTION 8.

ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR POLICY, THIS ACT AND ITS.
IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS.
Section 10 of the same Act is hereby amended as follows:
Upon a verified ex parte petition [by the AMLC] and after
determination that probable cause exists that any monetary instrument
or property is in any way related to [an unlawful activity) A
PREDICATE OFFENSE as defined in Section 3(i) hereof OR
MONEY LAUNDERING, the Court of Appeals may, WITHIN
TWENTY-FOUR (24) HOURS FROM THE FILING OF THE
PETITION, issue a freeze order which shall be effective
immediately, and which shall not exceed six (6) months depending
upon the circumstances of the case, PROVIDED, THAT IN CASES
INVOLVING UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES UNDER SECTION 3(i)
(1), 2). @), (4), (9), (12), (13), (14), (15), (17), (19), (28), (31), (32),
(33), (34) AND (42) HEREOF, AND FELONIES OR OFFENSES
OF SIMILAR NATURE PUNISHABLE UNDER THE PENAL
LAWS OF OTHER COUNTRIES, THE AMLC MAY ISSUE EX
PARTE FREEZE ORDER WHICH SHALL BE EFFECTIVE
IMMEDIATELY, AND WHICH SHALL NOT EXCEED
THIRTY (30) DAYS.

BEFORE THE EXPIRATION OF THE 30-DAY PERIOD, THE
AMLC MAY FILE BEFORE THE COURT OF APPEALS A
PETITION TO EXTEND THE FREEZE ORDER. THE
EXTENSION SHALL NOT EXCEED FIVE (5) MONTHS
DEPENDING UPON THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE.
THE COURT SHALL ACT ON THE PETITION FOR
EXTENSION WITHIN TWENTY-FOUR (24) HOURS FROM
FILING OF THE PETITION. PROVIDED, THAT THE 30-DAY
FREEZE ORDER SHALL REMAIN EFFECTIVE PENDING
RESOLUTION OF THE PETITION FOR EXTENSION.

FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, COVERED PERSONS,
UPON RECEIPT OF THE FREEZE ORDER, SHALL
LIKEWISE FREEZE RELATED ACCOUNTS.

THE MEMBERS OF THE AMLC AND ITS SECRETARIAT
SHALL BE IMMUNE FROM ANY CIVIL, CRIMINAL, OR
ADMINISTRATIVE LIABILITY IN THE EXERCISE OF THE
FOREGOING FUNCTIONS, PROVIDED THAT, IT WAS
EXERCISED IN THE REGULAR PERFORMANCE OF THEIR
DUTIES IN GOOD FAITH AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH
THIS ACT AND ITS IMPLEMENTING RULES AND
REGULATIONS.

A PERSON WHOSE ACCOUNT HAS BEEN FROZEN BY THE
AMLC OR COURT OF APPEALS MAY FILE A PETITION OR
MOTION, AS THE CASE MAY BE, TO LIFT THE FREEZE
ORDER BEFORE THE COURT OF APPEALS WITHIN
FIFTEEN (15) DAYS FROM NOTICE. PROVIDED, THAT THE.
PETITION OR MOTION TO LIFT SHALL BE RESOLVED



SECTION 9.

BEFORE THE EXPIRATION OF THE FREEZE ORDER
ISSUED BY THE AMLC OR THE COURT OF APPEALS.

IF THE 30-DAY FREEZE WAS NOT EXTENDED BY THE
COURT OF APPEALS, OR [Provided, That] if there is no case filed
against a person whose account has been frozen within the period
determined by the Court of Appeals, the freeze order shall be deemed
ipso facto lifted. Provided, that BEFORE LIFTING THE
EFFECTS OF THE FREEZE ORDER, THE COVERED
PERSON SHALL VERIFY WITH THE AMLC IF THERE IS.
ANY PENDING CASE.

[Provided, further, That this new rule shall not apply to pending cases
in the courts. In any case, the court should act on the petition to
freeze within twenty-four (24) hours from filing of the petition. If the
application is filed a day before a nonworking day, the computation of
the twenty-four (24)-hour period shall exclude the nonworking days.
A person whose account has been frozen may file a motion to lift the
freeze order and the court must resolve this motion before the
expiration of the freeze order.]

No court shall issue a temporary restraining order or a writ of
injunction against any freeze order, except the Supreme Court.”
Section 11 of the same Act is hereby amended as follows:

SEC. 11. Authority to Inquire into Bank Deposits. — Notwithstanding
the provisions of Republic Act No. 1405, as amended; Republic Act
No. 6426, as amended; Republic Act No. 8791; REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 10173; and other laws, the AMLC may inquire into or examine
any particular deposit or investment, including related accounts, with
any banking institution or non-bank financial institution upon order of
[any competent court] THE COURT OF APPEALS based on an ex
parte application in cases of violations of this Act, when [it has been
established that there is probable cause that] © THERE IS
REASONABLE GROUND TO SUSPECT that the deposits or
investments, including related accounts involved, are related to [an
unlawful activity] A PREDICATE OFFENSE as defined in Section
3(i) hereof or a money laundering offense under Section 4 hereof;
except that no court order shall be required in cases involving
activities defined in Section 3(i)(1), (2), (3), (4), (9), (12), (13), (14),
(15), (17), (19), (28), (31), (32), (33), (34) and (42) hereof, and
felonies or offenses of a nature similar [to those mentioned in Section
3()(1), (2) and (12), THERETO which are punishable under the
penal laws of other countries. [and terrorism and conspiracy to
commit terrorism as defined and penalized under Republic Act No.
9372.]

The Court of Appeals shall act on the application to inquire into or
examine any deposit or investment with any banking financial
institution or non-bank financial institution within twenty-four (24)
hours from filing of the application.

To ensure compliance with this Act AND ITS IMPLEMENTING
RULES AND REGULATIONS, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas


may, [in the course of a periodic or special examination, check the
compliance of a covered person with the requirements of the AMLA
and its implementing rules and regulations.| IN ACCORDANCE
WITH ITS SUPERVISORY POWERS UNDER SECTION 4 OF
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8791, LIKEWISE INQUIRE INTO OR
EXAMINE ANY DEPOSIT, INVESTMENT, TRUST OR
OTHER ACCOUNTS, AND ACCESS COVERED AND
SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTION DATABASES WITH ANY
BANKING INSTITUTION OR NON-BANK FINANCIAL
INSTITUTION.
[For purposes of this section, ‘related accounts’ shall refer to
accounts, the funds and sources of which originated from and/or are
materially linked to the monetary instrument(s) or property(ies)
subject of the freeze order(s).]
A court order ex parte must first be obtained before the AMLC can
inquire into these related accounts: Provided, that the procedure for
the ex parte application [of the ex parte court order for the principal]
FOR THE RELATED accounts shall be the same with that of [the
related) PRINCIPAL account.
‘The authority to inquire into or examine the main account and the
related accounts shall comply with the requirements of Article III,
Sections 2 and 3 of the 1987 Constitution which are hereby
incorporated by reference.
SECTION 10. Section 12 of the same shall have a new paragraph (d) as follows:
SEC. 12. Forfeiture Provisions. — x xx
(d) RETENTION OF FORFEITED ASSETS. —- THE AMLC SHALL RETAIN
TWENTY PERCENT (20%) OF THE TOTAL ASSETS FORFEITED LESS
THE COST OF LITIGATION, TAXES, LOCAL AND NATIONAL, AND
OTHER RELATED EXPENSES, PROVIDED THAT, IN NO CASE SHALL
THE RETAINED AMOUNT EXCEED TWICE THE HIGHER BUDGETARY
APPROPRIATION FOR THE AMLC IN THE LAST TWO (2) YEARS.
THE REMAINING PORTION SHALL BE TURNED OVER TO THE
NATIONAL TREASURY. THE RETAINED AMOUNT SHALL BE UTILIZED
BY THE AMLC FOR ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING OPERATIONS AND
CAPACITY BUILDING.
SECTION 11.Section 14(c) of the same Act shall be segregated into as paragraphs 14(c), (d),
and (e) as follows:
©) Malicious Reporting. Any person who, with malice, or in bad faith, reports
or files a completely unwarranted or false information relative to money laundering
transaction against any person shall be subject to a penalty of six (6) months to four
(4) years imprisonment and a fine of not less than One hundred thousand Philippine
pesos (Php100,000.00) but not more than Five hundred thousand Philippine pesos
(Php500,000.00), at the discretion of the court: Provided, That the offender is not
entitled to avail the benefits of the Probation Law.
(a) CRIMINAL LIABILITY OF JURIDICAL ENTITIES. - If the offender is a
corporation, association, partnership or juridical person, the penalty shall be imposed
upon the responsible officers, as the case may be, who participated in, or allowed by
their gross negligence, the commission of the crime. If the offender is a juridical



person, the court may suspend or revoke its license. If the offender is an alien, he
shall, in addition to the penalties herein prescribed, be deported without further
proceedings after serving the penalties herein prescribed. If the offender is a public
official or employee, he shall, in addition to the penalties prescribed herein, suffer
perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification from office, as the case may be.

(e) REFUSAL TO TESTIFY. Any public official or employee who is called
upon to testify and refuses to do the same or purposely fails to testify shall suffer the
same penalties prescribed herein.

SECTION 12. Items (d) to (e) of Section 14 of the same Act are hereby renumbered,
accordingly.

SECTION 13. Items (f) to (g) of Section 14 of the same Act shall be new Section 15 as
follows:

SEC. 15. ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS. -

[Imposition of Administrative Sanctions. The imposition of the administrative

sanctions shall be without prejudice to the filing of criminal charges against the

persons responsible for the violation.

After due notice and hearing, the AMLC shall, at its discretion, impose sanctions,

including monetary penalties, warning or reprimand, upon any covered person, its

directors, officers, employees or any other person for the violation of this Act, its
implementing rules and regulations, or for failure or refusal to comply with AMLC
orders, resolutions and other issuances. Such monetary penalties shall be in amounts
as may be determined by the AMLC to be appropriate, which shall not be more than

Five hundred thousand Philippine pesos (P500,000.00) per violation.]

(a) IMPOSITION OF ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS. — WITHOUT

PREJUDICE TO THE CRIMINAL SANCTIONS UPON ANY COVERED

PERSON, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR ANY OTHER

PERSON FOR THE VIOLATION OF THIS ACT, THE AMLC MAY, AT ITS

DISCRETION, IMPOSE UPON ANY COVERED PERSON, THEIR

DIRECTORS AND/OR OFFICERS, FOR ANY VIOLATION OF THIS ACT,

IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS, OR ANY ORDER,

INSTRUCTION OR REGULATION ISSUED BY THE AMLC AND ITS

SECRETARIAT, THE FOLLOWING ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS,

WHENEVER APPLICABLE:

1. REPRIMAND OR WARNING;

2. FINES IN AMOUNTS AS MAY BE DETERMINED BY THE AMLC
TO BE APPROPRIATE, BUT IN NO CASE TO EXCEED ONE
MILLION PHILIPPINE PESOS (PHP1,000,000.00) FOR EACH
VIOLATION, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE ATTENDANT
CIRCUMSTANCES, SUCH AS THE NATURE AND GRAVITY OF
THE VIOLATION OR IRREGULARITY AND THE SIZE OF THE
COVERED PERSON. IN ADDITION, THE AMLC MAY
RECOMMEND TO THE APPROPRIATE SUPERVISING
AUTHORITY THE REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF LICENSE
OR AUTHORITY TO OPERATE OF COVERED PERSON, AND THE
SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF RESPONSIBLE
DIRECTORS, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF COVERED
PERSONS.


RESIGNATION OR TERMINATION FROM OFFICE SHALL NOT
EXEMPT SUCH DIRECTOR OR OFFICER FROM ADMINISTRATIVE OR
CRIMINAL SANCTIONS.

The AMLC AND THE RESPECTIVE SUPERVISING AUTHORITIES may
promulgate rules on fines and penalties taking into consideration the attendant
circumstances, such as the nature and gravity of the violation or irregularity.

(b) NON-DISCRIMINATION AGAINST CERTAIN TYPES OF
CUSTOMERS. - The provisions of this law shall not be construed or implemented in
a manner that will discriminate against certain customer types, such as politically-
exposed persons, as well as their relatives, or against a certain religion, race or ethnic
origin, or such other attributes or profiles when used as the only basis to deny these
persons access to the services provided by the covered persons. Whenever a bank, or
ank, financial institution or whenever any person or entity commits said
iminatory act, the person or persons responsible for such violation shall be
subject to the sanctions as may be deemed appropriate by their respective
[regulators] SUPERVISING AUTHORITIES.

SECTION 14. Section 20' of Republic Act No. 9160, as amended by Republic Act No.
10365, is hereby repealed.
SECTION 15. The new provision on section 20 of the same act shall be as follows:

SEC. 20. CROSS-BORDER DECLARATION. — ALL PERSONS WHO BRING
INTO OR TAKE OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES, ANY CURRENCY AND
BEARER NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS, IN EXCESS OF TEN
THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS (USS10,000.00) OR ITS
EQUIVALENT SHALL DECLARE THE SAME IN WRITING.

THE AMLC MAY CAUSE THE RESTRAINT OF THE CURRENCY OR
BEARER NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS NOT DECLARED, OR FALSELY
OR ERRONEOUSLY DECLARED, OR IF THERE IS REASONABLE.
GROUND TO SUSPECT THAT THE CURRENCY OR BEARER
NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENT IS RELATED TO MONEY LAUNDERING
OR TERRORISM FINANCING. THE RESTRAINT SHALL NOT EXCEED
THIRTY (30) DAYS. THIS IS WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO THE
INSTITUTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE, CIVIL OR CRIMINAL
PROCEEDINGS, AFTER INVESTIGATION BY THE AMLC.

FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE AMLC MAY ENLIST THE

PHILIPPINE PORTS AUTHORITY AND OTHER RELEVANT
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.
SECTION 16. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared

unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effecti
thereof.

SECTION 17. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, and issuances or portions
thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed, amended
or modified accordingly; Provided, that all provisions of Republic Act No. 9160, as amended,

which are not inconsistent with this Act are hereby adopted.

of other provisions

1 SEC. 20. Non-intervention in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Operations. - Nothing contained in
this Act nor in related antecedent laws or existing agreements shall be construed to allow the AMLC to
participate in any manner in the operations of the BIR.


SECTION 18. Effectivity. -This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its
publication in, at least, two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,