IPOPHL eyes streamlined data sharing

MANILA, Philippines — The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) plans to work with the National Privacy Commission (NPC) for streamlined data sharing with payment gateways and legal enforcement authorities (LEAs) as part of efforts to fight counterfeiting and help the country exit the dirty money gray list.

IPOPHL director general Rowel Barba said in a statement yesterday the agency is exploring a coordination mechanism with the NPC to streamline data sharing with payment gateways and LEAs.

He said the IPOPHL also aims to revive its dialog with financial payment gateways and LEAs this year.

Gaps in tracking the “dirty money” flow; onboarding processes that ensure legitimacy of partners and transactions; and IP crime investigations and enforcement were discussed during the IPOPHL’s last meeting with payment gateways and LEAs in 2020.

Barba said the collaboration efforts would be crucial in having timely action against IP crime perpetrators, as well as help in the country’s delisting from the gray list of Paris-based global dirty money watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The Philippines is part of the gray list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring for deficiencies in countering money laundering and terrorist financing.

“We hope to succeed in our collaboration goals this year and that our efforts contribute to the delisting of the Philippines from the FATF gray list,” Barba said.

IPOPHL is part of the Financial Intelligence, Law Enforcement and Prosecution Sub-Committee (FILEPSC), a sub-committee of the National Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism Coordinating Committee that oversees the implementation of the National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Strategy approved by President Duterte through Executive Order 68 in 2018.

“As member of the FILEPSC, IPOPHL continues to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting and piracy, which have been identified as among the sources of money laundering and financing of organized criminal groups around the world,” Barba said.

He said the IPOPHL is backing the Anti-Money Laundering Council in the call to foreign financial institutions to cease from wholesale de-risking and having Philippine-related transactions subjected to additional scrutiny.

“De-risking – the termination or restriction of business relationships with clients or avoidance of clients and businesses – could deprive Philippine businesses and nationals from financial services that can provide the means for their survival and recovery from this crisis,” he said.