Financial consumer protection bill gets House panel OK

A bill providing a comprehensive financial consumer protection regime got the nod of the House of Representatives’ committee on banks and financial intermediaries on Tuesday.

Leyte 2nd District Rep. Henry Ong, panel chair and bill author, said House Bill (HB) No. 8301 seeks to “empower consumers and regulatory agencies.”

“Consumers can dissect bundled products and pricing details, and are given a cooling off period during which they can cancel or return the contract entered into without penalty, not including the processing fees,” Ong said in a statement.

The lawmaker also said HB 8301 gives the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Insurance Commission (IC) the flexibility to set the rules, conduct surveillance, inspection and do market monitoring, as well as enforce the law.

“Kapag ganap nang naisabatas ang Financial Consumer Protection Bill, agad nang makakahingi ng tulong ang publiko sa BSP, SEC, at IC para sa anumang reklamo kontra sa mga kumpanya at kanilang pinansyal na produkto at serbisyo,” Ong said.

If the Financial Consumer Protection Bill is enacted into law, the public can easily ask help from the BSP, SEC and IC regarding complaints on any financial products and services.)

“The regulators are empowered to issue cease and desist orders without the necessity of a prior hearing to avoid grave and irreparable injury to the consumer,” he added.

Moreover, the proposed measure places investment advisers under the regulatory jurisdiction of the SEC. /ee

Read the bill here:HB08301 – Financial Consumer Protection Act