THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) is hoping the Senate can pass the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) before Congress’ session ends in May, as this could help address the increase in crime involving banks, e-wallets, and other financial institutions.
During an information session for the media over the weekend, BSP Senior Assistant Governor Elmore O. Capule said Senator Mark A. Villar, who heads the Senate committee on banks, has said they target to pass the AFASA bill in May.
“As a matter of fact, last week, we had another committee hearing in the Senate. And it’s favorable. Even the industry is supporting it,” Mr. Capule said.
“According to Senator Mark Villar, his committee will fast-track this because they realized that it is a law whose time has already come,” he added.
The proposed AFASA aims to prevent and penalize financial cybercrimes, imposing harsher penalties for illegal acts committed under the Revised Penal Code, such as online selling and investment scams, phishing, and other schemes of fraud.
The bill has passed the House and is currently being discussed in the Senate, and a technical working group (TWG) composed of the BSP, the police, and communication officials was formed to finalize the substitute bill for AFASA.
Last week, Mr. Villar said the bill is expected to reach the plenary for debates once they resume session. He also ordered members of the TWG to come up with recommendations.
Mr. Capule said the bill authorizes the BSP to investigate cases involving the violation of the proposed law, apply for cybercrime warrants and orders, and request the assistance of law enforcers in the investigation of cases.
“The bill likewise includes a limited authority of BSP to examine and investigate financial accounts, e-wallets, and other financial accounts,” he said.
The BSP will also be exempted from existing laws on bank secrecy and data privacy to gather sufficient information in relation to the commission of the prohibited acts under the bill, he said.
“BSP really welcomes all the support that we can get to pass that bill,” Mr. Capule said. “We are almost at the finish line. We need more boost. And when that is passed, we help our consumers, the public.”
The AFASA bill and a measure seeking to ease the Bank Secrecy Law have been included in the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council’s list of 20 priority measures, which was approved by Congress last month.
Proposed amendments to the Bank Secrecy Law were also endorsed by the BSP, which are also being discussed by the Senate Committee on Banks.
“Essentially, that bill will give the authority to the BSP to look into bank deposits if there are insider abuse within the bank itself. It is important because we are the only country where we do not allow the banking regulator to look into bank deposits when there are issues against the owners,” Mr. Capule added.
Central bank officials have said amendments to the country’s Bank Secrecy Law will help the Philippines exit the Financial Action Task Force’s “gray list” of countries under increased monitoring for money laundering and terrorism financing risks.
The FATF, an intergovernmental organization combating money laundering and terrorism financing, added the Philippines to the list in June 2021 for several reasons, including risk of money laundering from casino junkets and lack of prosecution for terrorism funding cases.
The BSP is hoping the Philippines will be removed from the gray list by October 2024.
Meanwhile, BSP Managing Director for Financial Inclusion and Consumer Empowerment Sub-Sector Charina De Vera-Yap said the central bank received around 31,000 consumer complaints as of end-September 2023.
“Majority of the complaints are regarding e-money, but it’s mostly on account management. (Complainants) cannot access their accounts, they forget their passwords, and (they need guidance on) how to access their accounts,” she said.
The BSP processed 22,142 consumer complaints in 2022, data from the Consumer Assistance Mechanism (CAM) program showed. Around 75% of these complaints were processed through its BSP Online Buddy (BOB), which went live in 2020.
BOB and the CAM program are part of the BSP’s efforts to use technology as an accessible and efficient platform for escalating complaints against supervised financial institutions of the central bank. — Keisha B. Ta-asan