Looking in the wrong place for illicit funds

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is barking up the wrong tree by looking into casinos for the mysterious $100 million in illicit funds that recently entered the country. Understandably they are concerned and looking for these laundered funds, but I think they are mistaken when they say that a casino would be an easy place to launder money. After all, anyone who has frequented a casino knows that no one wins bigger than the house.

I think they are going down the wrong road by pushing once again for the inclusion of casinos in the coverage of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA). This is just a knee-jerk reaction to the recent probe and also because, according to SEC Chairman Teresita Herbosa, if they can’t include casinos in the coverage of the act the country may be blacklisted once again by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Herbosa claims that to help strengthen the AMLA, casinos should be included in the coverage of the act as well as the property and art sector. I understand where she is coming from, but again I don’t feel that casinos are the proper places for her to look. After all, although it is theoretically possible to launder money in a casino, it is also one of the riskiest places to do it and the downside outweighs the up.

Once money is remitted into the bank account of the casino for a specific player, this player is given nonnegotiable chips for the money. These chips must then be used to play in the casino. They can’t withdraw the cash and play with that. So if they are trying to launder a large amount of money, they get it via chips that have to be used in the casino. These chips can’t be converted into cash. Only the winnings can be converted. So essentially, if money is to be laundered via a casino through bank transfer, whoever was trying to get the money out that way would have “gamble” in the hopes of winning. And once again, as anyone who has ever frequented a casino knows, it really is the luck of the draw. It seems such a risky and unguaranteed way to launder funds.

Plus, at the end of the day, casinos also have many safeguards in place to ensure they can keep track of both their money (going in and out) and their players. In fact, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) President and CEO Cristino “Bong” Naguiat stated that PAGCOR has already started its own probe into the matter of the money remitted to the bank accounts of the casinos. They have already started talks with these casinos and are awaiting their replies. They are confident though that their safeguards in place should be more than enough to deter those who would want to try to launder money through their gaming institutions because of the strict internal control policies on the issuance of playing chips.

Additionally, the casinos can’t assume responsibility for where the money added into their accounts comes from. The money issued by local banks is already presumed good money because it has gone through the banking system before even reaching the casino. As far as they know, the money did not come from illegal sources because it has already cleared and gone through the Philippine banking system.

At the end of the day, it is important indeed to follow the trail of this mysterious $100 million, but honestly it also seems as if it’s too little. The funds have already been transferred out of the country so the bird has, quite literally, “flown the coop.” I hope that we can get to the bottom of the mystery, but at the same time do so in a proper and efficient matter that doesn’t make us seem even more corrupt and incapable as far as the global community is concerned.

In my opinion casinos are not institutions we should be worried about. I believe these gaming options are helping boost our country’s economy and we should welcome the influx of players and high rollers who would otherwise frequent destinations like Macau and Las Vegas. I think it’s actually quite heartening to head over to Entertainment City and see the development and the bustling number of tourists. It definitely is “more fun in the Philippines” and I hope that it stays that way.

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Department of Health Secretary Janette Garin advised everyone not to panic about the presence of the Zika virus in the country. This announcement came on the heels of the news that an American tourist who visited the Philippines for four weeks in January tested positive for the Zika virus upon returning home. This would seem to indicate that there are mosquitoes present in the Philippines carrying the Zika virus.

Garin confirmed that the “non-pregnant” tourist was the second recorded case of Zika in the country with the first reported case back in 2012 in Cebu – a boy with no travel history. Understandably everyone is scared because of all the news the Zika virus has generated over the last few months and the risks it poses – most especially to unborn children. However, just to be on the safe side, the tourist who had the recorded Zika case is also being asked about her travels prior to coming to the Philippines (while here she stayed mostly in Luzon).

The Health Secretary warned the public not to panic. This is still just an isolated case and there is no outbreak of Zika in the Philippines. However, it is still best to be cautious. Just like with dengue, the best way to prevent illness is to stop it at the source. As Zika is spread through mosquito bites, it is important to be extra cautious and vigilant against mosquitoes. Keep the areas around you clean, put on mosquito repellants and be extra careful two hours before sunrise and two hours before sunset when the Zika mosquito (the Aedes aegypti mosquito) is most active.