THE chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means on Tuesday said that a tougher crackdown on illegal online lending and investment scams “is in the offing” as President Rodrigo Duterte is likely to sign the proposed Financial Consumer Protection (FCP) Act this week.
House Committee Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said in a statement the FCP Act will vest financial regulators with the powers of rule-making, surveillance and inspection, market monitoring, enforcement and adjudication powers over financial products.
Salceda, who is the principal author of the measure, said “sources in the Palace” told him that “the President is very likely to sign it this week.”
“In any case, it lapses into law on May 7,” he added.
According to the lawmaker, once enacted, the FCP Act means more powers to authorities, “jail time and steeper fines for fraudsters, as well as clearer laws and regulations on investments, lending and other financial products.”
The law also expands the subpoena powers of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over financial products and services.
It would also increase the fine for investment fraud to up to P10 million (about $190,000 at current exchange rates) on top of criminal sanctions. The regulators may soon also be able to file independent civil action on behalf of victims of financial or investment fraud.
Over the past few days, Salceda said the…
