Poe pushes for better financial consumer protection with new bill

Sen. Grace Poe is pushing for increased protection for consumers of financial products through a bill that she hopes will also be tackled on the Senate floor next week.

The chairperson of the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies also asked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators as well as financial service providers to work doubly harder to provide better security and faster solutions for consumers who fall victim to rampant cybercrimes.

"What's heartbreaking is that for many people, the amount of P5,000 or P10,000 is actually their means of survival for the coming weeks. That's why not to have the loss resolved right away is really a dilemma," lamented Poe.

The BSP bared that it received a total of 42,456 complaints from 2020 to 2021 which amounted to roughly P540 million. From 2019 to 2021, depositors reported about losing a total of P2 billion from their accounts.

"It's one thing for people to lose money from scams but it's another issue when they lose money in institutions vetted by regulators. When people lose money from a risk-free instrument such as a deposit account, it undermines confidence not only in the bank but also in the industry, " Poe reminded.

Just last December, around 700 accounts of a big bank were compromised. This was followed by complaints about a change in the bank's terms and conditions with new depositors required to agree to a waiver that they will not hold the bank liable for any fraud.

"It's sad what they think they can get away with if they are not called upon to explain or to desist from implementing such policy," Poe said.

Questioned by Poe on its action, the BSP said it has issued a memorandum stating that such terms and conditions are not allowed. Poe has asked for a copy of the memo.

Meanwhile, the BSP said that the top three cybercrimes of 2020 were account takeovers or identity theft, phishing, and social engineering schemes including card-not-present fraud.

As digital transactions increased during the pandemic, so did the cybercrime rate.

"At a time when the government is pushing for digitalization, building trust in the system is priority," Poe said.

"The pleas of our people who unduly lose their hard-earned money should not fall on deaf ears, and it is our hope that this ceases with the passage of this measure," she added.

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Poe: Paigtingin financial consumer protection

Isinusulong ni Sen. Grace Poe ang dagdag proteksyon sa mga konsyumer ng mga financial products sa pamamagitan ng panukalang inaasahan niyang matatalakay ng Senado sa plenaryo sa susunod na Linggo.

Hiniling din ng chairperson ng Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies sa Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Securities and Exchange Commission at iba pang regulators gayundin sa financial service providers na doblehin ang pagtatrabaho upang mabigyan ng mas maayos na seguridad at mabilis na solusyon ang konsyumer na nabibiktima ng malawakang cybercrimes.

"Ang nakakadurog ng puso, para sa marami, ang P5,000 o P10,000 ay katumbas na ng kanilang mga pangangailangan para mabuhay sa mga susunod na linggo. Ito ang dahilan kaya't kailangang mabilis na maresolba ang anumang problema," pahayag ni Poe.

Inihayag ng BSP na kabuuang 42,456 na reklamo ang kanilang natanggap mula 2020 hanggang 2021 na umaabot na sa P540 milyon ang halagang sangkot sa cybercrime. Mula 2019 hanggang 2021, iniulat ng depositors ang pagkawala ng kabuuang P2 bilyon sa kanilang mga account.

"Isang bagay ang pagkawala ng pera dahil sa scams subalit ibang isyu ang pagkawala ng pera sa mga institusyong binabantayan ng mga regulator. Kapag ang mga tao ay nawalan ng pera sa risk-free instrument tulad ng deposit account, nawawala ang kumpyansa hindi lamang sa bangko kundi maging sa buong industriya," paliwanag ni Poe.

Nitong Disyembre, nasa 700 accounts ng malaking bangko ang nakompromiso. Sinundan din ito ng mga reklamo hinggil sa pagpapalit ng bangko ng kanilang terms and conditions na kinabibilangan ng pagsang-ayon ng mga bagong depositor sa waiver na hindi responsable ang bangko sa anumang uri ng fraud.

"Nakakalungkot na may pag-iisip kung ano ang maaaring takasan, kung hindi tinawag ang atensyon o hindi tinutulan ang pagpapatupad ng polisiya," sabi ni Poe.

Sa pagtatanong ni Poe, sinabi ng BSP na naglabas sila ng memorandum na nagsasaad na hindi pinapayagan ang naturang terms and conditions. Humiling naman si Poe ng kopya ng memo.

Samantala, ibinunyag ng BSP na ang top three cybercrimes noong 2020 ay kinabibilangan ng account takeovers o identity theft, phishing, at social engineering schemes kabilang na ang card-not-present fraud.

Sa pagdami ng digital transactions sa panahon ng pandemic, tumaas din ang cybercrime rate.

"Sa panahong isinusulong ng gobyerno ang digitalization, prayoridad ang pagbuo ng tiwala sa sistema," paalala ni Poe.

"Ang pagmamakaawa ng mga taong nawalan ng kanilang kaunting inipon ay dapat agad pakinggan. Umaasa tayong matitigil na ang ganitong kaso sa pagpasa ng panukalang ito," dagdag ni Poe.