Manila: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. expressed satisfaction over the European Commission's (EC) decision to remove the Philippines from its list of high-risk countries concerning financial crime. He noted that while this is positive news, the European Union (EU) Parliament still needs to confirm the EC's decision.

According to Philippines News Agency, the Belgium-based EC announced on June 10 that eight countries, including the Philippines, have been delisted from the high-risk countries list in a move intended to safeguard the EU financial system. However, several other countries were added to the list. The decision took into account the efforts of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and its list of "Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring."

The EC emphasized its role as a founding member of FATF and its active participation in monitoring the progress of listed jurisdictions. The Commission assists these jurisdictions in fully implementing their action plans agreed upon with FATF. The alignment with FATF is considered crucial for maintaining the EU's commitment to promoting and implementing global standards.

On February 21, FATF released an updated list of high-risk and other monitored jurisdictions, announcing the Philippines' removal due to significant progress in improving its anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. The Philippine government demonstrated effective risk-based supervision of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions, showed that supervisors were utilizing AML/CFT controls to address risks associated with casino junkets, implemented new registration requirements for money or value transfer services, and applied sanctions to unregistered and illegal remittance operations, among other measures.