President Duterte has signed into law the bill that protects the interest and promotes the rights of consumers of financial products and services such as those who pay for goods and services or sending money online, taking loans or saving for children’s education or businesses, among others.
The President on May 6 signed Republic Act No. 11765 or the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act, which stemmed from Senate Bill 2488 that passed last February 2 and adopted by the House of Representatives as an amendment to House Bill 6788 also on February 2.
In passing the law, the government aims to ensure mechanisms are in place to protect the interest of consumers of financial products and services under the conditions of transparency, fair and sound market conduct, and fair, reasonable, and effective handling of financial consumer disputes, which are aligned with global best practices.
RA 11765 states that to protect the following rights of financial consumers, it will implement measures that ensure the rights to: equitable and fair treatment, disclosure and transparency of financial products and services, protection of consumer assets against fraud and misuse, data privacy and protection, timely handling and redress of complaints.
It also imposes penalties of imprisonment of one year to five years or a fine of P50,000 to P2 million to those who would violate the law. For corporations that would violate RA 11765, the directors, officers or employees who are responsible for the violation shall be held liable.
The measure will take effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two national newspapers of general circulation.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno, in calling for the passage of the law during the Senate deliberation for the Financial Consumer Act said the BSP Consumer Assistance Mechanism received 42,456 complaints from 2020 to 2021. Among these complaints include those who lost their savings for the education of their kids after fraudsters who obtained their account information and made unauthorized fund transfers and those who were billed increased amortizations on their loans.
Diokno said the 2021 complaints involved at least P540 million while the cumulative amount from 20-19 to 2021 amounted to P2 billion.
He said the Insurance Commission also received 2,992 complaints against insurance and pre=-need companies while the Securities and Exchange Commission received hundreds of investment scam complaints.
