News
MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2017
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Laundering blitz targets pawnshops By Julito Rada
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ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas is requiring would-be pawnshop operators and their business partners to be fully aware of antimoney laundering regulations first before they can operate, a move intended to prevent money laundering activities in the country.
In a circular , Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said it would require pawnshop operators, partners and their personnel to attend a briefing on pawnshops regulations and a seminar on the Anti-Money Laundering Act. “As a prerequisite for the issuance of the authority to operate, the proprietors, partners, and directors of pawnshops are
now required to attend a briefing on pawnshops regulations and a seminar on the Anti-Money Laundering Act conducted by Bangko Sentral or the AntiMoney Laundering Council, or their accredited service provider,” the circular said. It said this formed part of the amendments of the provisions of the manual of regulations for non-bank financial institutions.
Pawnshop officers and personnel will particularly be briefed on customer identification, record keeping and reporting of covered and suspicious transactions. These officers and personnel should then relay what they learned to other employees to ensure effective compliance. “Any violation of the provisions of these regulations shall be subject to the administrative penalties,” Bangko Sentral said. Last November, Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said the regulator was eyeing to put in place 82 regulations this year to better manage risks and improve governance for its supervised financial institutions. He said the new regulations would not be all directed to the banking industry. Apart from banks, Bangko Sentral also supervises and regu-
lates pawnshops, lending investors, non-stock savings and loan associations, venture capital corporations, credit card companies, investment houses, finance companies, investment companies, and securities dealers/brokers. Bangko Sentral previously said it would upgrade the regulations on non-bank financial institutions in a bid to make the industry players comply with their anti-money laundering obligations. Espenilla said this was in line with the move to prevent the recurrence of money laundering activities in the country, the latest of which involved $81 million that was stolen by cyber thieves from the account of Bank of Bangladesh in the Federal Reserve in New York. The dirty money entered
the Philippine banking system through a branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. in Makati City in February 2016. Espenilla also said the regulator was also monitoring the activities of pawnshops and non-stock savings and loans associations. He said pawnshops, in particular, have actually evolved beyond the traditional construct of a corner establishment where anybody could bring their jewelry in exchange for cash. He said a significant chunk of pawnshop business was actually derived from remittance activities and other kinds of cross-sold activities. He said pawnshops were the number one distributors of micro insurance more than banks, competing the traditional insurance agents. Espenilla said the country’s
pawnshop law was based on presidential decrees that were issued during the Martial Law era and implemented by Bangko Sentral. Espenilla said shadow banking was an area of growing interest and concern because an unintended consequence of strengthening oversight over the formal banking system might result in the potential enlargement of shadow banking. Espenilla, however, said that tightening some laws might result in diminished services, for example, in remittance business. He said there must be a thorough study on how to recapture the business by strategically modifying the foreign exchange regulations, such that more transactions could be done in banks rather than in money changers.
‘LeniLeaks’ probe gets under way By Sandy Araneta HOURS after a Malacañang official said the so-called “LeniLeaks” wouldn’t be investigated, another official said the Palace would investigate online reports of supposed plots to oust President Rodrigo Duterte. In an interview over television program, Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar said Mr. Duterte was aware of moves to unseat him, and he would not be happy if such plans were proven to be true. Andanar said that Malacañang has reached out to the sources of the information and it is already being looked into by National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. “Magbibigay ng rekomendasyon si Secretary Esperon kung ano ang nararapat na gawin. Hindi dapat na pangunahan ang rekomendasyon ni Secretary Esperon,” he added. The “LeniLeaks” was supposedly “leaked e-mails” posted online which allegedly showed exchanges between Filipino-American philanthropist Loida Nicolas-Lewis and her sister, former Commission on Filipinos Overseas Chair Imelda “Mely” Nicolas. Vice President Leni Robredo, who resigned as Housing Secretary after being barred by Duterte from attending Cabinet meetings last month, had denied any connection to the ouster plans. Earlier on Sunday, another official said the Palace would not investigate the “LeniLeaks” controversy, saying the plan to oust President Rodrigo Duterte will likely not happen.
FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY. Impersonators of kings Balthazar, Melchor and Gaspar, royal visitors of the infant Jesus in a manger during the bibilical times, offer children with candies and gifts in the observance of the Feast of the Epiphany, marking the end of Christmas season, at the Saint Vincent de Paul churchyard in San Marcelino, Manila. Ey Acasio
Senate has a lot of work to do—Koko By Macon Araneta SENATE President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is upbeat about the prospects of having many bills enacted into law once Congress resumes session on Jan. 18. While only two bills had been passed before Congress adjourned for the Christmas break, Pimentel noted that senators filed a huge number of bills which are now in various stages. The first law passed by the 17th Congress was the postponement of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elec-
tions which was moved from Oct. 31, 2016 to Oct. 21, 2017. The second was the P 3.35-trillion national budget for 2017 which allocated around P1.4 trillion or 40 percent of the whole budget to social services programs. “So we have a lot of work to do,” said the Senate leader who is a partymate of President Rodrigo Duterte at PDP-Laban. Since the start of the 17th Congress last July 25, Pimentel said the senators had filed a total of 1,283 bills and 253 resolutions, which are in different stages of legislation.
It also adopted 33 resolutions, most noteworthy was Senate Resolution No. 33, concurring in the ratification of the Articles of Agreement of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which Pimentel said provided “the government access to more sources of funding so we can usher in a golden age of infrastructure for the Philippines.” “We opened the First Regular Session of the Senate of the 17th Congress by crafting an 11-point legislative agenda to guide us to Change. And this early, we can see results,” he said.
He said the Senate would continue pursuing priority bills under its 11-point legislative agenda such as the bills on Personal Income Tax Reform, the Amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act, as well as the bills granting emergency powers to address the traffic crisis, and the end of contractualization, among others. Pimentel said the Senate would continue its “labor of love for the country,” adding that he would call for a senators’ caucus early next year to properly set the legislative agenda for 2017.
PH Arena amazing, say two hoops coaches “AWESOME,” “amazing,” “firstclass.” These were the words used by champion Philippine Basketball Association coach Tim Cone to describe the Philippine Arena, which hosted two Holiday Season PBA games highlighted by the much-anticipated “Manila Clasico,” a matchup between Cone’s Gin Kings and the Star Hotshots. Cone guided the Gin Kings to an 86-79 victory over rival Star Hotshots in front of a 20,000-strong crowd. “Let me say this is an awesome facility. I’m so impressed with this facility. It’s so massive.” Cone, who was born in the United States and went to college in George Washington University in Washington, D.C., was awestruck by the Philippine Arena, which he compared to other famous indoor stadiums in the US. “I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve been to a lot of stadiums in the United States, and I’ve never seen anything like this before,” the coach said. “Even just pulling up and seeing the size of it... I’ve seen Staples (referring to Staples Center in Los Angeles, home of the NBA’s LA Lakers), I’ve seen the
one in Denver, I’ve seen a lot of coliseums; I’ve seen nothing like this,” explained Cone. “It’s really a first-class facility. I can play here every day,” said Cone, who has coached in the PBA for over 25 years. The sentiment was echoed by Mahindra Coach Chris Gavina, who coached the Floodbusters to
a 97-93 victory over Blackwater Elite, and hoped that the PBA could schedule more games in the Philippine Arena. “I wish we could play here every week. I’ll play here any day as long as we win,” said Gavina. Located in the sprawling 140-hectare Ciudad de Victoria
property in Bocaue, Bulacan, the Philippine Arena is the world’s biggest indoor arena. It can seat a maximum of 55,000 people and was inaugurated in July 2014. Among the major events held in the Arena were the Prismatic World Tour of international pop star Katy Perry, which drew 30,050 people; the Guinness
Book of World Records-setting premiere of the multi-awarded biopic Felix Manalo, with an audience of 43,624; and the Eat Bulaga Alden Richards-Maine Mendoza special “Sa Tamang Panahon,” which attracted a 55,000-strong crowd. The Philippine Arena NLEX exit is also scheduled to open this year.
January is ‘Bible Month’ PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has signed Proclamation No. 124 “Declaring the Month of January of Every Year as National Bible Month Culminating in the Last Week Thereof as National Bible Week.” Signed on Jan. 5, 2017, the Proclamation said, “the state recognizes the religious nature of the Filipino people and the elevating influence of religion in human society.” While maintaining neutrality in its treatment of all religious communities, the government is not precluded from pursuing valid objectives secular in character even if it would have an incidental result affecting a particular religion or sect, the Proclamation read. The 1987 Constitution calls on the government to support efforts to strengthen the ethical and spiritual values and to develop the moral character of the Filipino people, it said. History bears witness to the profound impact of the Bible on the life of nations, and to how it has moved and inspired many people, including statesmen and social reformers to work for the betterment of their fellow human beings even at great cost to themselves, the Proclamation read. It is fitting and proper, for the molding of the spiritual, moral and social fiber of our citizenry, that national attention be focused on the importance of reading and studying the Bible, it also read. In November 2015, Duterte called Pope Francis his favorite insult—a “son of a whore”—for apparently exacerbating Manila’s already chronic traffic during an official visit. He then announced he wished to visit the Vatican to personally apologize to the Catholic Church leader. Sandy Araneta