By Wilnard Bacelonia | Philippine News Agency
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian renewed his call to regulate abusive practices of online lending companies, decrying the harassment and intimidation tactics borrowers continue to face in a statement on Wednesday, April 23.
“Some of these lenders make borrowing easy, but miss one payment and they resort to threats — public shaming, (and) even sending bullets or funeral wreaths,” Gatchalian said in a statement, citing multiple complaints received by his office.
The senator underscored the urgency of passing Senate Bill No. 818, or the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which seeks to ban harassment, intimidation, and other abusive behavior in collecting debt and prohibits threats of violence, profane language, and public disclosure of borrowers’ identities.
“Lenders have the right to collect debts, but it must be done fairly and legally — not through threats or endangering lives,” he emphasized.
Gatchalian also encouraged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to impose stricter regulations on online lending platforms, citing that the current minimum capital requirement for lending companies is only P1 million, regardless of how many online lending applications (OLAs) they operate.
Currently, there are 117 registered lending and financing firms and 181 OLAs, SEC data showed. (PNA)
