Philippines Eyes Stricter Anti-Dirty Money Rules to Avoid Global Watchlist

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ antimoney laundering watchdog is preparing an overhaul of its rules as it seeks to tighten its grip on illicit financial flows, expand oversight of high-risk industries and preserve the country’s hard-won exit from the global dirty-money watch list. In its 2026 annual regulatory plan, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said it would pursue amendments that would broaden its enforcement and investigative powers, including widening the scope of entities subject to antimoney laundering rules. The council wants to bring real estate buyers and sellers, virtual asset service providers and online gambling operators under its regulatory umbrella, according to the plan. It also plans to impose updated customer due diligence requirements on casinos, dealers in precious metals and stones, and virtual asset service providers. The watchdog also wants power to issue bank inquiry orders, transaction suspension orders and administrative freeze orders. Under current rules, the council generally needs a court order to examine bank deposits, although it may proceed without judicial approval in investigations involving kidnapping for ransom, drug offenses, hijacking and terrorism. It must also obtain a court-issued freeze order before assets suspected of being tied to money laundering or other illicit financial activity can be immobilized. To implement the changes, the AMLC is drafting a revision of the implementing rules and regulations for the Anti-Money Laundering Act that would replace the 2018 version. The council aims to complete the revisions by the fourth quarter of 2026. The timetable reflects the urgency of staying ahead of the Philippines’ next mutual evaluation by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2027, when the country’s antimoney laundering regime will once again come under international scrutiny. “The swift revision and updating of the IRR is needed,” the AMLC said, warning that delays “can materially increase the risk” of the Philippines being returned to the global dirty-money gray list. “It addresses urgent public policy concerns, including financial system stability, investor confidence and the Philippines’ standing on AML watch lists, where delayed or weakened safeguards could carry significant economic and reputational costs,” it added. The overhaul comes after the Philippines strengthened its antimoney laundering regime in recent years, helping it secure its removal from the global list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring maintained by the FATF, the international watchdog for money laundering and terrorist financing. The country’s latest National Risk Assessment, covering 2021 through 2024, assigned the Philippines a score of 0.67 out of 1.0 for its antimoney laundering and counterterrorism financing framework, up from 0.60 in the previous assessment. INQ