A rule of law

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has done two things no president has:

- TONY LOPEZ

• Effect the arrest of a former president, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, for trial before the International Criminal Court for alleged crime against humanity — the widespread and systematic attack on civilian population, the extrajudicial killing of 12,000 to 30,000 victims.

• The Philippine exit on Feb. 21, 2025 from the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Paris-based global anti-money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. A gray list meant a weak anti-money laundering regime.

Duterte's arrest and the dirty money exit prove that we have a rule of law, which should improve the climate for doing business and governance. Foreign direct investments (FDI) should intensify.

Under President Duterte, in June 2021, the Philippines was blacklisted for three reasons: unrestrained money laundering; the unsupervised operations of casinos, legal and illegal; and allowing Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs), which became massive crime operations engaged in money laundering, sex trafficking, kidnapping, and other nefarious crimes.

The Bangko Sentral said the exit is expected to facilitate faster and lower-cost cross-border transactions, reduce compliance barriers and enhance financial transparency. These will support business, strengthen the country's position as an attractive destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) and benefit Filipinos, particularly overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

On Feb. 10, 2025, the ICC's Office of the Prosecutor applied for an arrest warrant against Duterte for the crimes against humanity of murder, torture and rape. The ICC Pre-Trial Court Chamber I signed the arrest warrant (only for crime against humanity) on March 7, 2025.