Duterte signs law providing protection to consumers

Pres. Rodrigo Duterte during his Talk to the People. Screengrab from PCOO / Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a measure providing consumers more protection against fraud in availing of financial products and services.

A copy of Republic Act No. 11765 or the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act, signed by Duterte on May 6, was sent to reporters Tuesday.

“It is the policy of the State to ensure that appropriate mechanisms are in place to protect the interest of consumers of financial products and services under the conditions of transparency, fair and sound market conduct, and fair, reasonable, and effective handling of financial consumer disputes, which are aligned with global best practices,” the measure stated.

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The government shall implement measures to protect the following rights of financial purchaser:

-right to equitable and fair treatment

-right to disclosure and transparency of financial products and services

-right to protection of consumer assets against fraud and misuse

-right to data privacy and protection

-right to timely handling and redress of complaints

Under the new law, financial regulators shall have the following powers:

-rulemaking

-market conduct surveillance and examination

-market monitoring

-enforcement

-consumer redress or complaints handling mechanism

-adjudication

Senator Grace Poe — chair of the Senate committee on banks, financial institutions and currencies — is expecting financial service providers to do their part.

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“We expect financial service providers to establish and strengthen existing mechanisms to immediately assist consumer complaints, requests or inquiries and provide status on courses of action,” Poe said in a statement.

“The law arms regulators with sufficient authority in effectively preventing fraud and timely addressing consumer issues, especially as more turn to digital services,” she added.

The measure will take effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two national newspapers of general circulation.

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