MANILA, Philippines — The Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) recognizes only two categories of reportable transactions - covered or suspicious - and does not define an "unusual" transaction, Senator-Judge Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said Wednesday.
Lacson made the clarification during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte after former LandBank of the Philippines branch manager Nenita Camposano described as "unusual" a P37.5-million cash withdrawal from the Department of Education's (DepEd) account.
Camposano, the prosecution's second witness for Article I of the Articles of Impeachment, had noted that not all "unusual" transactions are flagged as suspicious or reported to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
"So there's no 'unusual' transaction. It's either you categorize it into covered or suspicious transaction," Lacson said.
"The law does not provide for an unusual transaction. A reportable transaction is either suspicious or covered," he added.
