President Marcos on Saturday signed into law two bills that aim to protect Filipinos against online scams and enhance government efficiency.
The landmark Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) seeks to combat online scams by requiring financial institutions to implement safeguards to protect citizens’ accounts.
“To combat the surge in crimes involving scams online, this new law mandates financial institutions to implement necessary safeguards to protect our citizens’ accounts and this is essential in this time as cybercriminals use technology to defraud fellow Filipinos — causing not only personal economic loss through them but also a loss of trust in financial institutions,” Mr. Marcos said.
“It will protect our people from falling prey to perpetrators who target their banks and e-wallet accounts,” he added.
The new law defines and penalizes money laundering, social engineering schemes, and economic sabotage, among other offenses.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said it welcomes the passage of AFASA.
“We express our full support for the new anti-financial account scamming law. This will help us strengthen consumer protection and foster trust and confidence in the Philippine financial system,” said BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr.
The new law authorizes the BSP to investigate financial accounts involved in prohibited acts and apply for cybercrime warrants.
“I hope that, through this law, we can deter the majority of the financial scams that we have been seeing while at the same time fostering greater trust in our digitization efforts,” Mr. Marcos said.
The second law, the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), updates Republic 9184 by streamlining the procurement process from three months to 60 days through standardized forms and electronic procurement.
“The NGPA streamlines the procurement process from three months to just sixty days by standardizing procurement forms and institutionalizing electronic procurement,” Mr. Marcos said.
“One of the salient features of this law is the provision of eleven new modalities of procurement. This will afford greater flexibility for government agencies in choosing how to best acquire goods and services,” he added.
It also implements the Most Economically Advantageous Responsive Bid, allowing for qualitative evaluation of bids, and includes strategic procurement planning and sustainable practices to address environmental concerns.
Speaker Romualdez lauded the enactment of the two legislative measures.
“The signing of AFASA marks a significant milestone in our fight against financial fraud and cybercrime. This law provides stringent measures to regulate financial accounts and prevent their misuse, ensuring that our financial systems remain secure and trustworthy,” he said.
Violations of AFASA carry severe penalties. Money muling can result in 6 to 8 years of imprisonment and fines ranging from P100,000 to P500,000.
Social engineering schemes can lead to 10 to 12 years of imprisonment and fines between P500,000 and P1 million, with harsher penalties for targeting senior citizens, which is 12 to 14 years of imprisonment and fines of P1 million to P2 million.
Economic sabotage can result in life imprisonment and fines from P1 million to P5 million.
Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, for his part, said the NGPA will improve public services and promote greater transparency by simplifying procurement procedures for national agencies and local government units.
“A streamlined and more transparent procurement process means faster and more efficient delivery of government services. It also means fewer opportunities for corruption,” the senator said.
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