EDITORIAL - Back to the gray list? Monetary authorities are hoping that the global dirty money watchdog will not think so, even as they acknowledge the risk of the Philippines being returned to the gray list of countries under close monitoring by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force. Inclusion in the FATF gray list makes financial transactions with the Philippines more difficult because of additional checks for dirty money. Weakness in regulating casino junkets, among other factors, kept the country in the FATF gray list for a long time. Such selective treatment of lawbreakers was among the factors that brought the country to its current mess, and a renewed risk of increased monitoring for dirty money.

Source: Philippine Star February 04, 2026 16:39 UTC