Anti-scam law ‘too narrow’—BSP

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is pushing for the relaxation of the country’s decades-old bank secrecy laws, arguing that current anti-scam legislation is insufficient to track a broad range of criminal activities.

- BY DERCO ROSAL

ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina A. Roque (right) meets with Muhammad Humair Karim (left), Secretary of Pakistan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, to discuss the expansion of bilateral trade and investment linkages. During the dialogue, both officials reaffirmed their commitment to improving market access and fostering stronger private sector partnerships between the Philippines and Pakistan.

While the recently enacted Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) provides new tools to combat digital fraud, BSP General Counsel Roberto Figueroa told reporters that its scope remains narrow.

Figueroa noted that AFASA limits the use of gathered information strictly to the investigation and prosecution of scam-specific violations. In contrast, an amendment to bank secrecy rules would allow regulators to probe any suspicious activity in the financial system, regardless of the underlying crime.