The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission set out a new round of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing initiatives aimed at keeping the Philippines off the Financial Action Task Force grey list following the country’s recent delisting. In a press conference, SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino highlighted the need to sustain reforms, identify emerging risks and gaps, and implement additional measures over the next two years as the Philippines prepares for another mutual evaluation. A central 2025 deliverable is the launch of the Hierarchical Applicable Relations and Beneficial Ownership Registry (Project HARBOR), a beneficial ownership registry designed to be shared with partner agencies through data-sharing agreements and supported by automated data validation, configurable access controls and analytical tools for complex ownership structures. The SEC also flagged continued AML/CFT examinations and expanded outreach for the non-profit organisation sector, alongside stronger AML/CFT enforcement across supervised capital market entities, and it is drafting new rules for crypto-asset service providers, with draft guidelines already released for public comment. The release also pointed to reliance on the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act, which grants the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas limited authority to examine and investigate certain accounts tied to prohibited acts, and to the SEC’s consideration of additional enforcement tools including administrative seizures and orders for accounting and disgorgement under the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act. Project HARBOR is slated to go live in 2025, while the final crypto-asset service provider guidelines will be issued after reviewing industry feedback. FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo indicated the Philippines will undergo its next assessment in 2027.

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