[ REPUBLIC ACT NO.

11521, January 29, 2021 ]

AN ACT FURTHER STRENGTHENING THE ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING

LAW, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9160,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE "ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING ACT OF
2001", AS AMENDED

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines

in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Section 2 of Republic Act No. 9160, as amended, is hereby

amended to read as follows:

"Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the

State to protect and preserve the integrity and confidentiality of bank
accounts and to ensure that the Philippines shall not be used as a money
laundering site for the proceeds of any unlawful activity. Consistent with its
foreign policy, the State shall extend cooperation in transnational
investigations and prosecutions of persons involved in money laundering
activities wherever committed, as well as in the implementation of targeted
financial sanctions related to the financing of the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction, terrorism, and financing of terrorism, pursuant to the
resolution of the United Nations Security Council."

Section 2. Section 3 of the same Act is hereby amended as follows:

"Section 3. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms are
hereby defined as follows:

"(a) Covered persons', natural or juridical refer to:

"(1) x x x;

"(9) Real estate developers and brokers;

"(10) Offshore gaming operation, as well as their service

providers, supervised, accredited or regulated by the
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR)
or any government agency;

"(b) 'Covered transactions' is a transaction in cash or other

equivalent monetary instrument involving a total amount in
excess of Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00) within
one (1) banking day; for covered persons under Section 3(a)(8),
a single casino cash transaction involving an amount in excess of
Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00) or its equivalent in any other
currency.

"For covered persons under Section 3(a)(9) herein, a single cash

transaction involving an amount in excess of Seven million five
hundred thousand pesos (P7,500,000.00) or its equivalent in any
other currency.

"(b-1) 'Suspicious transactions' are transactions with

covered persons, regardless of the amounts involved,
where any of the following circumstances exist:

"1. There is no underlying legal or trade obligation,

purpose or economic justification;

"2. The client is not properly identified;

"3. The amount involved is not commensurate with

the business or financial capacity of the client;

"4. Taking into account all known circumstances, it

may be perceived that the client's transaction is
structured in order to avoid being the subject of
reporting requirements under the Act

"5. Any circumstance relating to the transaction

which is observed to deviate from the profile of the
client and/or the client's past transactions with the
covered person;

"6. The transaction is in any way related to an

unlawful activity or offense under this Act that is
about to be, is being or has been committed; or

"7. Any transaction that is similar or analogous to

any of the foregoing.

"x x x

"(i) 'Unlawful activity' refers to any act or omission or series or

combination thereof involving or having relation to the following:

"(1) x x x;
 "(33) Fraudulent practice and other violations under
Republic Actr No. 8799, otherwise known as "The
Securities Regulation Code of 2000;

"(34) Violation of Section 9 (a)(3) of Republic Act

No. 10697, otherwise known as the "Strategic Trade
Management Act", in relation to the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction and its financing
pursuant to United Nations Security Council
Resolution Numbers 1718 of 2006 and 2231 of
2015";

"(35) Violation of Section 254 of Chapter II, Title X

of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as
amended, where the deficiency basic tax due in the
final assessment is in excess of Twenty-five million
pesos (P25,000,000.00) per taxable year, for each
tax type covered and there has been a finding of
probable cause by the competent
authority: Provided,further, That there must be a
finding of fraud, willful misrepresenting or malicious
intent on the part of the
taxpayer: Provided, finally, That in no case shall the
AMLC institute forfeiture proceedings to recover
monetary instruments, property or proceeds
representing, involving, or relating to a tax crime, if
the same has already been recovered or collected by
the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in a separate
proceeding and

"(36) Felonies and offenses of a similar nature that

are punishable under the penal laws of other
countries.

"x x x.

"(4) 'Offshore gaming operator' refers to an entity engaged

in offering online games of chance or sporting events via
the internet using a network and software program, by
themselves or through local service providers.

"(5) 'Service providers' refer to duly constituted business

corporations who provide components of offshore gaming
operations to offshore gaming operators.
 "x x x.

"(m) 'Real estate developer' refers to any natural or juridical

person engaged in the business of developing real estate
development project for the account of the developer and
offering them for sale or lease.

"(n) 'Real estate broker' refers to a duly registered and licensed

natural person who, for a professional fee, omission or other
valuable consideration, acts as an agent of a party in a real
estate transaction to offer, advertise, solicit, list, promote,
mediate, negotiate, or effect the meeting of the minds on the
sale, purchase, exchange, mortgage, lease or joint venture, or
other similar transaction on real estate or any interest therein.

"(o) 'Targeted financial sanctions' refer to both asset freezing

and prohibition to prevent funds or other assets from being
made available, directly or indirectly, for the benefit of any
individual, natural or legal persons or entity designated pursuant
to relevant United Nations Security Council resolution and its
designation processes.

"(p) 'Proliferation financing' refers when a person:

"(1) Makes available an asset; or

"(2) Provides a financial service; or

"(3) Conducts a financial transaction; and the person

knows that, or is reckless as to whether, the asset,
financial service or financial transaction is intended to, in
whole or in part, facilitate proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction in relation to UN Security Council Resolution
Number 1718 0f 2006 and 2231 of 2015."

Section 3. Section 7 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Section 7. Creation of Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). - The Anti-

Money Laundering Council is hereby created and shall be composed of the
Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas as Chairman, the Commissioner
of the Insurance Commission and the Chairman of the Securities and
Exchange Commission, as members. The AMLC shall act unanimously in the
discharge of its functions as defined hereunder:
 "(1) to investigate suspicious transactions and covered
transactions deemed suspicious after determination by AMLC,
money laundering activities and other violations of this Act.

"x x x;

"(13) in the conduct of its investigation, the AMLC shall apply for
the issuance of a search and seizure order with any competent
court;

"(14) in the conduct of its investigation, the AMLC shall apply for
the issuance of subpoena ad testificandum and/or subpoena
duces tecum with any competent court;

"(15) to implement targeted financial sanctions in relation to

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its financing,
including ex parte freeze, without delay, against all funds and
other assets that are owned and controlled, directly or indirectly,
including funds and assets derived or generated therefrom, by
individuals or entities designated and listed under United Nations
Security Council Resolution Numbers 1718 of 2006 and 2231 of
2015 and their successor resolutions as well as any binding
resolution of the Security Council; and

"(16) to preserve, manage or dispose assets pursuant to a

freeze order, asset preservation order, or judgment of
forfeiture: Provided, however, That pending their turnover to the
national government, all expenses incurred in relation to the
duties herein mentioned shall be deducted from the amount to
be turned over to the national government."

Section 4. A new Section 8-A is hereby inserted after Section 8 (Creation of

a Secretariat) of Republic Act No. 9160, as amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 8-A. Information Security and Confidentiality. - The AMLC and

its Secretariat shall securely protect information received or processed
and shall not reveal, in any manner, any information known to them
by reason of their office. This prohibition shall apply even after their
separation from the AMLC.

"The AMLC shall formulate rules governing information exchange and

dissemination, the security and confidentiality of such information,
including procedures for handling, storage, and protection of, as well
as access to such information."
Section 5. Section 10 of the same Act, is hereby further amended by
inserting a new paragraph to read as follows:

"Section 10. Freezing Monetary Instrument or Property. -

"(a) Upon a verified ex parte petition by the AMLC and after determination
that probable cause exists that any monetary instrument or property is in
any way related to an unlawful activity as defined in Section 3(i) hereof, the
Court of Appeals may issue a freeze order which shall be effective
immediately, for a period of twenty (20) days. Within the twenty (20) day
period, the Court of Appeals shall conduct a summary hearing, with notice to
the parties, to determine whether or not to modify or lift the freeze order, or
extend its effectivity. The total period of the freeze order issued by the Court
of Appeals under this provision shall not exceed six (6) months. This is
without prejudice to an asset preservation order that the Regional Trial Court
having jurisdiction over the appropriate anti-money laundering case or civil
forfeiture case may issue on the same account depending on the
circumstances of the case, where the Court of Appeals will remand the case
and its records: Provided, That if there is no case filed against a person
whose account has been frozen within the period determined by the Court of
Appeals, not exceeding six (6) months, the freeze order shall be
deemed ipso facto lifted: Provided,further, That this new rule shall not apply
to pending cases in the courts. In any case, the court should act on the
petition to freeze within twenty-four (24) hours from filing of the petition. If
the application is filed a day before a nonworking day, the computation of
the twenty-four (24) hour period shall exclude the nonworking days.

"The freeze order or asset preservation order issued under this Act shall be
limited only to the amount of cash or monetary instrument or value of
property that court finds there is probable cause to be considered as
proceeds of a predicate offense, and the freeze order or asset preservation
order shall not apply tyo amounts in the same account in excess of the
amount or value of the proceeds of the predicate offense.

"A person whose account has been frozen may file a motion to lift the freeze
order and the court must resolve this motion before the expiration of the
freeze order.

"No court shall issue a temporary restraining order or a writ of injunction

against any freeze order, except the Supreme Court.

"(b) For purposes of implementing targeted financial sanctions in relation to

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its financing, as provided
under Section 3(15), the AMLC shall have the power to issue, ex porte, an
order to freeze without delay.

"The freeze order shall be effective until the basis for its issuance shall have
been lifted. During the effectivity of the freeze order, the aggrieved party
may, within twenty (20) days from issuance, file with the Court of Appeals a
petition to determine the basis of the freeze order according to the principle
of effective judicial protection: Provided, That the person whose property or
funds have been frozen may withdraw such sums as the AMLC determines to
be reasonably needed for monthly family needs and sustenance including
the services of counsel and the family medical needs of such person.

"The AMLC, if circumstance warrant, may initiate civil forfeiture proceedings

to preserve the assets and to protect it from dissipation.ℒαwρhi৷ No court
shall issue a temporary restraining order or a writ of injunction against the
freeze order, except the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court."

Section 6. Section 12 of the same Act is hereby amended by inserting a

new paragraph to read as follows:

"(d) No court shall issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) or a writ of

injunction against any provisional asset preservation order or asset
preservation, except the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court."

Section 7. Section 14, paragraph (d) of Republic Act No. 9160, as

amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"Section 14. Penal Provisions. -

"x x x

"(d) Breach of Information Security and Confidentiality. The punishment of

imprisonment ranging from three (3) to eight (8) years and a fine of not less
than Five hundred thousand Philippine pesos (P500,000.00) but not more
than One million Philippine pesos (P1,000,000.00), shall be imposed on a
person convicted for a violation under Section 9(c) 0r Section 8-A on
information security and confidentiality of this Act. If the offender is public
official or employee, he shall, in addition to the penalties prescribed herein,
suffer the penalty of perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification from
public office, as the case may be. In the case of a breach of confidentiality
that is published or reported by media, the responsible reporter, writer,
president, publisher, manager and editor-in-chief shall be liable under this
Act."
Section 8. Section 20 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as
follows:

"Section 20. Non-Intervention in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)

Operations. - Nothing contained in this Act nor in related antecedent laws or
existing agreements shall be construed to allow the AMLC to participate in
any manner in the operation of the BIR. The AMLC, may, however,
coordinate with the BIR On investigations in relating to violations of Section
254 of NIRC, as amended, as a predicate offense to money laundering."

Section 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The AMLC shall, within

ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act, issue the necessary rules
and regulations.

Section 10. Separability Clause. - If any provision or section of this Act is

held to be unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions or sections hereof,
which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

Section 11. Repealing Clause. - All provisions of existing laws, orders, rules
and regulations, or parts thereof which are in conflict or inconsistent with
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly: Provided, That all provisions of Republic Act No. 9160, as
amended, which are not inconsistent with this Act are hereby adopted.

Section 12. Effectivity.- This Act shall take effect immediately after the
completion of its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of
general circulation.

Approved,

(SGD.) LORD ALLAN JAY Q.

(SGD.) VICENTE C. SOTTO
VELASCO
III
Speaker of the House of
President of the Senate
Representatives

This Act which is a consolidation of House Bill No. 7904 and Senate Bill No.
1495 was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the
Philippines on January 20, 2021.

(SGD.) MARK LLANDRO L.

(SGD.) MYRA MARIE D.
MENDOZA
VILLARICA
Secretary General House of
Secretary of the Senate
Representatives
Approved: JAN 29 2021

(SGD.) RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE

President of the Philippines