The Senate in the Philippines has given its final approval to two key amendments to the country's Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA)

Legislators hope the amendments will keep the Philippines out of the blacklist of non-compliant countries and maintain letter of credit (L/C) flows.

Two amendments

One of the amendments allows for unilateral court orders to be made to allow the authorities to investigate suspicious bank accounts without notifying depositors.

The second amendment effectively criminalises terrorist financing for the first time in the Philippines' history.

Set aside

A third amendment, which contemplates the treatment of institutions and individuals involved in money laundering, was set aside until July.

As well as maintaining L/C flows, legislators hope the new measures will help avoid delays in dollar remittances.

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