Power Politics In Policymaking: The Anti-Money Laundering Act Of The Philippines

The Anti-Money laundering law (AMLA) is a financial regulation enacted mainly because of external demand, as the Financial Action Task Force(FATF) called on the Philippine Government to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regime. The FATF not only summoned the PhilippineGovernment, but also determined the shape and content of the AMLA by requiring the institutional policy actors to conform to the globalstandards. Thus, the FATF exercised direct powers — agenda setting and decision making — in persuading the Philippine Government to enact thelaw. The institutional policy actors were impelled to prioritize the consideration and deliberation of the financial regulation (agenda setting) andcompelled to enact and rework the content of the policy to conform to the FATF standard within a time frame (decision-making). The FATF’s use ofdirect powers was made possible and reinforced by the context-shaping power of the prevailing financial structure, specifically, the establishmentof the AML regime. Context-shaping bound the institutional actors to enact the policy because of the prevailing AML regime established by theFATF. As the context-shaping power underscored the exercise of the agenda-setting and decision-making powers, the lawmaking experience thatcreated the AMLA highlights the employment of the different dimensions of power as well as the contemporary dynamics in the global financialstructure vis-à-vis the policymaking process.