PHILIPPINE MONEY REMITTERS FLAGGED IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN ‘SUSPICIOUS’

TRANSACTIONS

MANILA (Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism) — Filipino

remittance firms were investigated in the aftermath of the 2016 cyber-heist

that siphoned off $81 million from the central bank of Bangladesh. Documents

now show that a few years before the daring theft, these remittance firms

had moved millions of U.S. dollars in “suspicious” transactions, raising the

question as to why they were not stopped in their tracks much earlier.

A cache of secret bank reports shows that Philrem Service Corp. (Philrem)

and Werquick Inc. sent more than $1 billion of what were deemed “suspicious”

wires from 2012 to 2016, mostly using their accounts in BDO Unibank Inc.

(BDO), Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), and Metropolitan Trust Bank

Co. (Metrobank).

These activities were flagged in Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)

submitted by various U.S. banks to the U.S. Treasury DepartmentÂ’s Financial

Crimes Enforcement Network or FinCEN. Because the U.S. dollar is the worldÂ’s

currency, sending money from one country to another requires conversion to

U.S. dollar.

This means that funds have to pass through a bank operating in the U.S.

These U.S. banks must file SARs to FinCEN if it sees suspect activity.

FinCEN is the U.S. financial intelligence unit similar to the Anti-Money

Laundering Council (AMLC) of the Philippines.

FinCEN Files is a cross-border investigation based on secret documents that

exposes how banks and regulators have failed the public by allowing dirty

money to flow unchecked around the globe. It shows how politicians, crooks,

and tycoons – from Benin to Venezuela to Turkmenistan – profit at the

expense of governments and ordinary people.

The SARs were shown to PCIJ by BuzzFeed News and the International

Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which led more than 400 reporters

in 88 countries to investigate trillions in banking secrets. Information

contained in these reports is not necessarily evidence of wrongdoing or

criminality, but they have been closely examined to identify transactions

and relationships that inform news stories in the public interest.

The cross-border investigation exposes the secret world of international

banking. Journalists across the globe found that the world's biggest banks

fail to stop suspicious activities, allowing anonymous actors go unchecked

while millions of dollars in taxpayerÂ’s money get looted.

Since the FinCEN files cover activities involving Filipino parties mostly

from 2012 to early 2016, the reports can be seen as a precursor to the 2016

Bangladesh Bank heist. The SARs indicate how vulnerable the Philippine

financial system had been to money laundering as moving funds apparently can

be done without naming or verifying the source and beneficiary as well as

specifying the purpose of the transfers.

The AMLC could not disclose whether it had investigated the remittance firms

prior to the heist, but it maintained that anti-money laundering rules and

regulations covering money service businesses (MSBs) such as Philrem and

Werquick had been in place since 2011.

'UNFORTUNATE, NOT IMMINENT': DIOKNO SAYS ON EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S CALL TO

REVIEW PH TARIFF PERKS

MANILA - Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Benjamin Diokno said Monday the

European Parliament's call to review the tariff incentives extended to the

Philippines was "unfortunate."

The review, which was called for due to the "deteriorating level of press

freedom in the Philippines" and alleged human rights abuses could lead to

the suspension of the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) extended

to the Philippines.

"As an economist, I always say that trade is welfare enhancing, it benefits

both parties and so this is so unfortunate. But I don't think the EU

parliament has a mandate to take back the GSP privileges," Diokno told ANC.

Diokno said actions of tariff privileges rests with another European Union

body composed of 27 countries.

"I don't think that would be imminent, we have good relations with Germany

and UK and France, I think it would take time. I donÂ’t think it's the EU

parliament that has anything to say on the GSP," he said.

The European Parliament's threat to suspend the country's GSP+ status will

affect up to 20 percent of its exports to EU and could lead to more job

loss, according to Philexport president Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr.

Some groups said it could also worsen poverty while former Commission on

Human Rights chief Etta Rosales said the Philippines could suffer from a

"big toll" if tariff perks were canceled.

Palace Spokesperson Harry Roque, meanwhile, told the EU Parliament on

Friday, to "go ahead" if they want to and add to the suffering of the

Filipino people during the pandemic.

HUMAN RIGHTS 'NEVER GOT IN THE WAY' OF WAR ON DRUGS — PNP CHIEF

MANILA — Human rights have never "gotten in the way" of the so-called war on

drugs—during which official police data has recorded over 5,800

deaths—because, the national police chief claims, the agency respects and

upholds human rights.

This comes after Police Gen. Camilo Cascolan, the chief of the Philippine

National Police, first denied at an earlier press briefing on September 7

that the extra-judicial killings linked to the administration campaign

against illegal narcotics even existed.

Speaking before reporters at his weekly press briefing Monday, Cascolan

said: "Let me state for the record that Human Rights has never gotten in the

way of the PNP campaign against illegal drugs and vice-versa, precisely

because police anti-illegal drugs operations are consistent with Police

Operational Procedures or rules of engagement that are founded on the

fundamental principle to respect, protect and fulfill human rights; and to

uphold the rule of law."

FILIPINOS URGED TO REJECT LIES ABOUT MARCOS RULE ON 48TH MARTIAL LAW

ANNIVERSARY

MANILA -- Filipinos should reject the attempts to rewrite the horrors of

martial law under late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Vice President Leni

Robredo said as the Philippines marked the 48th anniversary since its

imposition.

Robredo, a student activist during the Marcos regime, said the dictator's

rule was marked by the killing and disappearance of critics, the swelling of

the national debt, corruption, abuses, poverty and the erosion of national

institutions.

At a time of divisiveness, Filipinos should strive to find commonality by

looking back and "asserting the truths that bind us together as one people,

with one history," said the Vice President.

"These truths know no political color, but come starkly in the black and

white of our lived experience as a nation. Walang debate dito; nangyari

ito," she said in a statement.

"And those who attempt to tell us otherwise are not only merely telling a

supposed version of the story: They are lying to our faces, stealing our

truths from us, stealing our stories. Because without these truths and

stories, we will be further divided, at mas madaling magtatagumpay ang mga

pagtatangkang abusuhin muli tayo," she added.

Filipinos should "push back against these lies at every instant," Robredo

said.

"To tell the stories of Martial Law and dictatorship over and over so that

this generation, and the ones that come after, may be bound tighter through

remembering. To hold firm to the truth of this painful chapter of our

history, and through this, forge the determination to never again let our

people fall into such despair. We must do this because, ultimately, our

national aspirations can only be as strong as our national memory," she

said.

"Ngayong araw, manindigan muli tayong hindi tayo makakalimot," she said.

Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. claims his family is a "victim" of

historical revisionism, asserting that accusations against them have been

unproven, despite legal proof of atrocities and ill-gotten wealth during his

father's rule.

The Philippine government recognizes the atrocities under MarcosÂ’ regime

through a law that grants compensation to the thousands of victims of human

rights violation during the period, the Akbayan CitizensÂ’ Action Party said

Sunday.

President Rodrigo Duterte, a self-confessed admirer of the strongman,

allowed Marcos' burial at the Heroes Cemetery in 2016.

The Department of Education had said it would educate the youth on the

martial law period despite alleged moves to distort history.

PINOYS HAVEN’T LEARNED LESSONS OF MARTIAL LAW – BISHOP

MANILA — Filipinos have not learned their lessons from martial law,

Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM) apostolic administrator Bishop Broderick

Pabillo said yesterday.

“I think we have not learned our lessons. People are not vigilant and are

not courageous enough to speak out. They do not vote seriously. They allow

themselves to be bullied,” Pabillo said ahead of today’s 48th anniversary of

the declaration of martial law.

On Sept. 21, 1972, former president Ferdinand Marcos signed Presidential

Proclamation 1081, which placed the entire country under martial rule,

spawning a series of summary killings, arrests and other human rights

abuses.

Balanga, Bataan Bishop Ruperto Santos also believes that Filipinos should

learn from the lessons of the past to prevent the oppressions of martial law

from taking place again.

“We have to learn from martial law and live its lesson, that we should never

let it happen again. We have to value our freedom, defend and promote it.

But sad to say we tend to forget and take it for granted,” said Santos.

“There are political leaders who are self-serving, using their position to

enrich and prolong their power. And we allow ourselves to be bought during

elections or we just keep silent instead to speak about abuses,” he added.

Former Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes recalled that as a priest and head of

social action in the Diocese of Surigao, he was among those who suffered

various forms of harassment during the dark times of the dictatorship.

He said Filipinos should not forget the atrocities that transpired during

martial law and urged that it be part of the lessons in school.

CARPIO WARNS OF SECURITY RISKS POSED BY CHINESE TELCOS

MANILA — Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio warned that

the Philippines faces a serious problem in allowing ChinaTel to install

telecom equipment in military camps, as all Chinese companies are mandated

under Chinese law to disclose to their intelligence services any information

required from them.

Carpio also warned of violations to the Constitution and the national

security risk if Congress enacts the law to remove telcos as a public

utility open to foreign control.

In a webinar of the Philippine Bar Association held Friday, Carpio said,

“The Supreme Court is supreme because it’s the final interpreter of words

and phrases in the Constitution.”

“But if Congress will pass a law interpreting and redefining these terms and

phrases, you are taking away the power of the Supreme Court. This is a

battle of turf between the Congress and the Supreme Court,” Carpio said. “It

is the Supreme Court that will decide, and they will also decide that

Congress cannot reserve the power of the Supreme Court and to be the final

arbiter of interpreting the Constitution.”

On the risk of Chinese ownership of third telco DITO, Carpio warned that

Chinese law mandates all Chinese companies, as citizens, to disclose to

their intelligence services any information asked of them.

“That is a problem, that the Philippines is allowing ChinaTel to install

telecom equipment in military camps and the fact that we have a conflict

with China,” he said, noting that China is stealing territories such as the

West Philippine Sea and Philippine maritime zones.

HOUSE LEADERSHIP SHOWDOWN BREWS

MANILA — A fight over the House of Representatives leadership is looming

this week after an opposition lawmaker raised the issue of an inequitable

share of billions in district allocations among legislators, especially

those in power.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano currently appears to have the advantage even if

his presumptive successor, Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, should be

holding the reins of power by next month, courtesy of a term-sharing

agreement that President Duterte brokered in mid-2019.

House insiders said the Cayetano camp would have its show of force when

sessions resume today, with leaders of power blocs in the administration

coalition expected to throw their support behind his leadership.

Lawmakers identified with the speaker-in-waiting are silent. Duterte has not

openly given any marching orders to his allies in the lower chamber, which

CayetanoÂ’s allies view as a continuation of his leadership.

DuterteÂ’s son, Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte of Davao City, confirmed rumors

over the weekend that he would call for a move “to declare all seats vacant”

today, owing to complaints of favoritism raised by Negros Oriental Rep.

Arnolfo Teves Jr. against the current leadership.

There is speculation that Congressman Duterte himself might give the

speakership a run.

The President has been in Davao City since Friday.

Sources in Congress said it is not certain if Velasco would show up at the

House today as he could no longer be reached for the past days.

“The trouble now is because of Cayetano’s refusal to step down as Speaker

and give way to (Velasco). I already sensed it when he first assumed as

Speaker that Cayetano would not give up his seat without a fight,” a source

told The STAR.

“I think Polong (nickname of Paolo Duterte) is also interested to become

Speaker. He is the only one who could make sure that Cayetano is unseated,”

the same source added.

THE REST

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PHILIPPINES' COVID-19 TALLY HITS 286,743 AS DEATH TOLL NEARS 5,000

MANILA -The Philippines confirmed 3,311 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday

bringing the countryÂ’s total to 286,743.

The Department of Health also reported 20,021 new recoveries as the DOH

implemented its weekly “mass recovery” pushing the total number of Filipinos

who recovered from the disease to 229,865.

This meant that the country has a total of 51,894 active cases as of 4 p.m.

Sunday.

Fifty five more deaths were reported from the illness, bringing COVID-19Â’s

death toll in the Philippines to 4,984.

MERALCO PAYS P19-MILLION FINE FOR 'BILL SHOCK' INCIDENT, APPEALS DISCOUNT

ORDER FOR LIFELINE CUSTOMERS

Manila Electric Co. has settled the P19 million penalty slapped against the

company by regulators over contentious power bills during the lockdown

period.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday, the Pangilinan-led firm

also said it has asked the Energy Regulatory Commission to reconsider

another order to provide a one month discount to lifeline customers

consuming 100 kilowatt per hour or less.

The firm said pending the resolution of their pleading, the discount would

still be implemented during the October billing period.

MPD EXEC AXED OVER MANILA BAY BEACH CROWD

MANILA — The police station commander in charge of the Manila Bay area was

sacked yesterday after crowds that gathered to see the newly opened

beachfront featuring artificial white sand failed to observe social

distancing amid the general community quarantine (GCQ).

Lt. Col. Ariel Caramoan, commander of the Ermita police station which has

jurisdiction over ManilaÂ’s Baywalk, was relieved from his post by Philippine

National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Camilo Cascolan.

The PNP chief held Caramoan responsible for the botched implementation of

minimum health protocols as shown in social media photos and videos of

crowds swarming Roxas Boulevard early yesterday morning.

“The reason is he (Caramoan) could’ve prevented that from happening. (Last

Saturday), we have seen people flocking already and it has been highlighted

to expect that come (Sunday), many people will visit too,” Joint Task Force

COVID Shield Commander Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar told The STAR.

Photos from visitors, police and local government showed more or less a

hundred people bunched together shoulder to shoulder, taking photos of the

beach.

“We can see that there are lapses from the station commander. We want this

to stand as a reason for all other station commanders to be aware,” he

added.

Caramoan will be replaced by Lt. Col. Alex Daniel, who was the Manila Police

District (MPD)Â’s chief comptroller.

Despite restrictions on mass gatherings, close to a thousand people crowded

the section of Manila Bay featuring the governmentÂ’s controversial

beachfront white sand enhancement and restoration project.

“People were just too excited. Everybody wants to see the white sand,” said

Brig. Gen. Rolando Miranda, MPD director, as the festive crowd spilled over

to Roxas Boulevard, causing a brief traffic jam.

Signs carried by marshalls, reading “Observe social distancing,” were

ignored by excited promenaders.

ENTERTAINMENT & LIFESTYLE

MAJA SALVADOR THROWS STREET FOOD PARTY TO MARK 1M SUBSCRIBERS ON YOUTUBE

MANILA -- Actress Maja Salvador now has 1 million subscribers on the

video-sharing site YouTube.

Salvador on Sunday took to Instagram to share the good news to her fans and

followers.

"Salamat sa pagsama sa masayang journey na ito. Marami pa tayong

pagsasamahan mga beshies," Salvador wrote in the caption.

To celebrate her latest achievement, Salvador had a street food party with

her loved ones, including her boyfriend Rambo Nuñez. A video of their

celebration was uploaded on her channel on Sunday.

"Isang milyong pasasalamat mga beshies. One million na tayo, one million

subscribers. Maraming-maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat. Isang milyong

pasasalamat dahil sa sinamahan niyo ako sa journey na ito. Noong naisipan ko

na gumawa ng YouTube channel mga beshies, ginawa ko 'yon dahil mas gusto ko

na makilala niyo po ba ako ng mas personal pa, kalalimlaliman na

pagkakakilala, 'yung ganun. ‘Yung Maja na hindi niyo napapanood sa TV, hindi

sumasayaw sa stage o sa mga pelikula. 'Yung ako mismo, 'yung walang ibang

character na ginagawa," Salvador said.

She added: "Kaya maraming-maraming salamat sa pagsama niyo sa akin sa

journey na ito. Dahil diyan mga beshies ay umabot na tayo ng 1 million

subscribers."

Salvador started vlogging in June w2019 via her YouTube channel entitled

"Meet Maja."

Aside from her life being an actress, Salvador also shares her personal

moments and travel journey via her vlogs.

"Kaya nagkaroon tayo ng YouTube channel dahil lahat ng gusto kong puntahan,

lahat ng paborito kong kainan, mga yugyugan, mga kasiyahan, kahit anong

moments pa 'yan, 'yan ang mapapanood niyo," Salvador said.

Salvador last starred in ABS-CBN's hit series "The Killer Bride" which ended

January this year.

SPORTS

NBA SCORES SEP 20

FINAL

    1    2    3    4    T

3 Nuggets 0-2    21    29    28    25    103

1 Lakers 2-0    29    31    22    23    105

GAME 2: LAL LEADS 2-0

Highlights: Nuggets vs Lakers

3:02

SCORING LEADERSN. Jokic DEN

30 PTS, 6 REB, 9 AST

A. Davis LAL

31 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Desperation is sometimes as powerful an inspirer as genius. - Benjamin

Disraeli