I. Education
Master of Laws in International Legal Studies (2007)
Georgetown University Law Center
Washington DC, USA
Dean's Lister
Bachelor of Laws (1997)
San Beda College of Law
Manila, Philippines
Bachelor of Science in Commerce, Major in Accounting (1991)
De La Salle University
Manila, Philippines
II. Professional Certifications
Lawyer (1997)
Real Estate Broker (1993)
Certified Public Accountant (1992)
III. Work Experience
Executive Director
Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Secretariat
18 August 2017 – present
Officer-in-Charge
AMLC Secretariat
1 February 2017 – 17 August 2017
Deputy Director
Office of Supervisory Policy Development, Supervision and Examination Sector (SES), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
2 July 2014 – 31 January 2017
Deputy Director and Head
Anti-Money Laundering Specialist Group (AMLSG), SES, BSP
19 November 2010 – 1 July 2014
Bank Officer V/Acting Deputy Director and Head
AMLSG, SES, BSP
28 January 2009 – 18 November 2010
Bank Attorney III/Acting Bank Attorney IV/Acting Deputy Director
Compliance and Investigation Group, AMLC Secretariat
25 September 2002 – 27 January 2009
Bank Attorney II
Office of the General Counsel and Legal Services (OGCLS) – Litigation Group, BSP
29 March 2001 – 24 September 2002
Bank Attorney I
OGCLS – Legal Counseling, BSP
8 December 1999 – 28 March 2001
Bank Officer II
OGCLS– Legal Counseling, BSP
1 October 1998 – 7 December 1999
Bank Officer I (Bank Examiner)
Department of Commercial Banks II, BSP
8 February 1996 – 30 September 1998
Membership in Professional Associations
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)
Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA)
A certified public accountant, real estate broker, and lawyer, Atty. Mel Georgie B. Racela is a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from San Beda College of Law and his Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce, Major in Accounting, from the De La Salle University. He also holds a Master of Laws degree in International Legal Studies from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., USA, where he graduated as a Dean's Lister.
As Deputy Director and Head of the Anti-Money Laundering Specialist Group of the Supervision and Examination Sector (SES), he played a principal role in the following activities, alongside the review of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Reports of Examination of BSP-supervised Entities:
Establishment of the regulatory framework (Circular No. 706 dated 5 January 2011) for compliance by BSP-supervised Entities;
Crafting an AML Risk Rating System (approved by the Monetary Board on 2 March 2012);
Issuance of the Revised Examination Manual for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Activities (REMACA); and
Launching of the AML Training Course for SES Examiners.
As Deputy Director/Officer-in-Charge of the Office of Supervisory Policy Development at SES, he further honed his management skills in producing macro-prudential policies, including Circular No. 858 dated 21 November 2014 (Liberalization of the Entry of Foreign Banks) and Circular No. 854 dated 29 October 2014 (Minimum Capitalization of Banks). He also led the Special Projects and Reports Group that is in charge of drafting periodic reports to the Monetary Board, the most significant of which is the Status of the Philippine Financial System, a semestral report submitted to the Congress of the Philippines and the Office of the President pursuant to the provisions of the New Central Bank Act.
On 1 February 2017, he was designated Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Secretariat, and less than seven months later, the Council appointed him as Executive Director of the Secretariat.
Notable legislative and regulatory framework developments under his leadership include:
Republic Act (RA) No. 10927, otherwise known as "An Act Designating Casinos as Covered Persons under RA No. 9160, otherwise known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended," which includes casinos and casino operators as covered persons under RA No. 9160;
Casino Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA No. 10927, which require casinos to institute risk management policies and implement a comprehensive risk-based Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Program;
The Rules on the Implementation of Administrative Sanctions under RA No. 9160, as amended, which define administrative offenses and the attendant penalties that the AMLC may impose upon investigation and administrative adjudication;
The AMLC Registration and Reporting Guidelines, which is the AMLC's comprehensive effort to provide the legal and policy framework for registration by covered persons into the AMLC's online system, and to ensure proper and timely compliance with reporting procedures;
The AMLC Registration and Reporting Guidelines for Casinos, which require integrated resorts and other casinos to register with the AMLC;
The Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorism Financing Guidelines for Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs), which require DNFBPs, including jewelry dealers in precious stones and metals; company service providers who deliver fund/securities management services for other persons, and persons and entities who, as a business, provide services to organize, create, and manage companies and arrangements to register with the AMLC; and
The AMLC Guidelines on Digitization of Customer Records, which require covered persons to digitize customer due diligence records and transaction histories.
Another AMLC milestone under Atty. Racela's guidance is the approval of the Second National Risk Assessment Report, which evaluated the overall threat and effectiveness of the country's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing mechanisms, covering the years 2015 and 2016.
Currently, the Philippines is undergoing its third Mutual Evaluation (ME), a peer review system to assess the country's compliance with international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards. With his experience as an Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) Assessor and as Co-Chair of the Southeast Asia Counter-Terrorism Financing Working Group (SEA CTFWG), Atty. Racela is at the helm of active involvement and collaboration of various government agencies and private stakeholders in the ME process with the AMLC as lead agency.
Bolstering cooperation between the AMLC and government and law enforcement agencies, the AMLC, represented by Atty. Racela, signed two new memoranda of agreements (MOAs) with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and the Bureau of Corrections; and revisited and revised two MOAs with the Office of the Ombudsman and the National Bureau of Investigation.
Atty. Racela also championed the much-needed reorganization of the Secretariat, increasing the staff complement and forming new groups and departments to strengthen the AMLC's investigation, financial intelligence, and conduct of compliance testing.k on some items in the Common Objects-section to add more images, titles and texts to your page of the page or click on some items in the Common Objects-section to add more images, titles and texts to your page
