Press Release
September 12, 2021

Gatchalian pushes anew bill giving more consumer protection vs financial fraudsters

With a strong backing from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Senator Win Gatchalian pushed anew the passage of his bill protecting financial consumer welfare amid the increased adoption of digitalization of financial products and services in the country.

"The government should continuously be more proactive in terms of coming up with ways to protect our consumers," Gatchalian said.

In welcoming the BSP's support for Senate Bill No. 2287 or the proposed "Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act," the Vice Chairperson of the Senate Economic Affairs Committee expressed gratitude to the country's central monetary authority for underscoring the significance of an enabling law that will safeguard the interest of financial consumers.

Gatchalian noted the prevalence of the use of financial services as well as innovations in financial products and services following the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

Alongside this development, Gatchalian said that consumers have also become more vulnerable to groups or entities who prey upon those in need while fraudsters have become more creative and sophisticated in hijacking personal information found in both physical devices and online accounts.

"We need to stay ahead because hackers and fraudsters also evolve and they know how or where people are lax when it comes to protecting their identity and personal information," Gatchalian, also Vice Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, said.

"We need to strengthen the powers of government and clear up the lines on who will protect financial consumers and what are the mechanisms for financial consumers to tap into in case of fraud," he added.

SB 2287, Gatchalian explained, seeks to expand the powers of the BSP and other financial regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Insurance Commission (IC) and the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) to perform acts necessary for the protection of financial consumers such as market conduct surveillance and examination, market monitoring, enforcement, provision of complaint handling mechanism, adjudication, and rule-making, among others. While the BSP already has in place its manual on consumer protection, Gatchalian pointed out that such guidelines are limited to BSP regulating BSP-supervised financial institutions and does not cover other financial regulators and other pertinent institutions which also provide financial services.

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Panukalang batas laban sa financial fraudsters muling isinusulong ni Gatchalian

Matapos magpahayag ng suporta ang Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), muling isinusulong ni Senador Win Gatchalian ang panukalang batas na magbibigay ng karagdagang proteksyon sa mga konsyumer na tumatangkilik sa digitalization ng mga serbisyong may kinalaman sa pananalapi sa bansa.

"Dapat patuloy na maging maagap ang gobyerno sa pagkakaroon ng mga sapat na hakbang na magbibigay proteksyon sa ating mga konsyumers," sabi ni Gatchalian.

Pinasalamatan ni Gatchalian ang BSP sa suportang ibinibigay nito sa kanyang Senate Bill No. 2287 o ang panukalang Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act lalo na't binigyan diin nito ang kahalagahan ng batas na magsisiguro sa interes ng mga financial consumers.

Ayon sa Vice Chairperson ng Senate Economic Affairs Committee, dumadami ang bilang ng mga tumatangkilik sa mga financial services at mga makabagong pamamaraan ng serbisyong may kinalaman sa pananalapi simula noong isang taon o mula nang pumutok ang pandemya.

Sa paglago ng mga ganitong serbisyo at produkto, sinabi ni Gatchalian na marami ang naglipanang gumagamit ng makabagong pamamaraan para makapanloko o makakuha ng mga personal na impormasyon sa pamamagitan ng pag-hack sa online accounts at madaling nabibiktima ang mga taong gipit lalo na sa ganitong panahon.

"Kailangan nating makipagsabayan o kung maaari pa nga ay mas nauuna pa sa kaalaman na ginagamit ng mga hackers o mga kawatan na nagiging mas mapangahas," paliwanag ni Gatchalian na Vice Chairperson din ng Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies.

"Para maisakatuparan ito, kailangang palakasin natin at dagdagan ang kapangyarihan ng mga ahensya ng gobyerno at linawin ang papel ng mga dapat magbibigay proteksyon sa mga financial consumers at magkaroon ng sapat na mekanismo na magiging sandalan ng mga financial consumers sakaling mabiktima sila ng mga panloloko," dagdag pa niya.

Sa ilalim ng SB 2287, mapapalawak ang kapangyarihan ng BSP at iba pang financial regulators katulad ng Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Insurance Commission (IC), at Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) para magsagawa ng mga kaukulang hakbang na layong paigtingin ang proteksyon ng publiko sa pamamagitan ng market conduct surveillance and examination, market monitoring, enforcement, provision of complaints handling mechanism, adjudication at paggawa ng mga nararapat na panuntunan, paliwanag ni Gatchalian.

Sa kasalukuyan ay mayroon nang "manual on consumer protection" ang BSP ngunit hindi ito sapat, ayon kay Gatchalian, lalo na't ang mga panuntunang nito ay sakop lamang ang mga financial institutions na nasa ilalim ng pangangasiwa ng BSP at hindi saklaw ang iba pang financial regulators o mga institusyon na nagbibigay din ng serbisyong may kinalaman sa pananalapi.

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