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The Anti-Money Laundering Council has responded to the warning made by President Duterte if the agency would not cooperate with the administration’s war on illegal drugs.

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Tuesday the council has submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation several documents it sought months ago for a fact-finding probe on illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison.

"After the President issued his warning to the AMLC in his speech at about 3 p.m. (last Monday), the NBI received the response from them at around 4:30 p.m. or in less than two hours," he said in an interview.

Aguirre said the NBI waited the documents for about two months and was supposed to include them in the drug trafficking complaint filed against Senator Leila de Lima and other former officials.

He said the AMLC report is dated Nov. 11, 2016, but the date was written using a ball pen and obviously prepared days earlier.

"We waited for that response from AMLC for several weeks, so the NBI could include it in the complaint. Because of the delay, the NBI could no longer wait and filed the case and decided to just pursue the AMLC report while the case is pending," he said.

In his speech during the foundation anniversary of the NBI last Monday, Duterte warned the AMLC and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to cooperate with his administration's efforts to run after laundered money.

“You choose. Either we cooperate in this government as a Republic to protect and preserve our people or make it hard for us (and) I will make it hard for you," Duterte said. DMS