President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed government agencies to back the drafting of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism / Proliferation Financing Strategy (NACS) for 2026–2030.
Under Memorandum Circular 113, dated February 12 and published in the Official Gazette, Marcos tasked the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to provide technical and administrative support, set timelines, and monitor compliance of agencies involved in the strategy’s development.
“The heads of concerned government agencies and instrumentalities are hereby directed, and heads of LGUs are hereby encouraged, to ensure that their institutional action plans for the NACS 2026–2030 are aligned with their respective agency resources, subject to existing laws, rules, and regulations,” the circular said.
Government agencies, including government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and local government units (LGUs), are urged to actively support the AMLC in drafting the updated strategy against money laundering and terrorism financing.
The move comes after the Philippines completed its Third National Risk Assessment (NRA) covering 2021–2024, which identified priority threats and vulnerabilities related to money laundering, terrorism, and proliferation financing, and recommended risk-based actions for the national strategy.
Updating the NACS is crucial as the country prepares for its Fourth Mutual Evaluation by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) in 2027. The evaluation will examine compliance with the 40 recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and assess effectiveness across 11 immediate outcomes.
A FATF Standards Technical Compliance Gap Analysis is ongoing to ensure the country’s framework meets international standards ahead of the APG evaluation. Earlier, FATF urged the Philippines to continue strengthening its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing system.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Eli Remolona Jr. said in early February that the Philippines is working to maintain its exit from FATF’s “grey list,” which the country left in 2025 after demonstrating compliance with measures addressing money laundering and terrorism financing.
