House adopts Senate version of Consumer Protection Act
THE House of Representatives adopted the Senate’s version of the Financial Consumer Protection Act.
This is in order to easily approve the measure and will be sent to President Rodrigo Duterte for signature.
The Financial Consumer Protection Act seeks to establish a regulatory and penal framework for financial crimes and fraud to protect consumers of financial products such as investment schemes and insurance.
The measure will serve as the foundation for tighter protections for unsuspecting retail investors and consumers of retail financial products.
Lawmakers underscored the need to have a financial consumer protection framework for the country since the government has no comprehensive law for the protection of buyers and sellers of investment products.
The bill includes fundamental protections for consumers of financial products, and allows the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to pursue civil action on behalf of scammed consumers.
In the future, however, “the framework can still have more teeth when we introduce reforms that create financial crimes units in the police and investigative agencies.”
Also ratified before the session break is the Public Service Act amendments.
The measure effectively opens up to 100 percent foreign equity all economic sectors in the country except the transmission and distribution of electricity, water pipeline and sewerage, seaports, petroleum pipeline, and public utility vehicles.
With this measure, FDIs will increase by around P299 billion over the next five years from the final version of the sectors that will be opened up as a result of the PSA amendments.
