The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology into its operations to analyze suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and covered transaction reports (CTRs), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona announced Thursday.
Speaking at a Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) briefing, Remolona explained that the AMLC allocated P125 million from its budget boost toward AI integration and expert capacity building. The technological upgrade targets previous analytical bottlenecks, allowing the council to automatically flag suspicious financial movements.
“We acquired AI systems that help analyze and spot red flags in STRs and CTRs,” Remolona said, noting the funds are being actively utilized.
The announcement follows concerns raised by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian regarding past Senate hearings, where flagged transactions were left unacted upon due to limited analytical capabilities. Gatchalian emphasized that while external factors like Middle East oil prices are out of government control, curbing domestic corruption through stronger AMLC oversight is vital for protecting the economy.
The push to strengthen the AMLC gained traction after Senate finance panel interventions restored the council’s budget to P333 million. Former Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Panfilo Lacson championed the additional P162 million allocation after investigations into flood control project anomalies revealed massive cash withdrawals, including a single contractor withdrawing P457 million over nine days in early 2025.
Remolona acknowledged that the flood control probe highlighted critical gaps in the country’s anti-money laundering framework, which the new AI capabilities aim to close.