Senator Sherwin Gatchalian renewed his call for a law banning abusive debt collection practices by online lending companies, citing growing complaints of borrower harassment.
“Ang mga nagpapautang na ito, ginawa nilang mas madali nga para makautang ang mga tao. Pero isang araw lang na hindi makabayad, puro pananakot na ang ginagawa nila. Pinapahiya pa sa komunidad at minsan nagpapadala pa ng korona ng patay o bala,” said Gatchalian.
He cited his Senate Bill No. 818, the proposed Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which seeks to prohibit harassment, threats, profane language, and public disclosure of borrowers’ identities during debt collection.
“Karapatan din ng mga nagpapautang na maningil pero dapat nasa wasto at tamang pamamaraan. Dapat makatarungan at legal yung pangongolekta at hindi pananakot at pagbabanta sa buhay,” he stressed.
Gatchalian also urged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to tighten regulations for online lenders, pointing out that the current minimum capital requirement of just P1 million applies regardless of how many lending apps a company operates.
As of now, 117 lending and financing firms and 181 online lending apps are registered with the SEC.IMT
