PNP cracks down on abusive online lending apps

Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has ordered the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) to crack down on online lending applications that allegedly harass borrowers online and violate data privacy laws.

“We documented cases of photos [being manipulated] to humiliate and scare their borrowers. This is not acceptable and this kind of wrongdoing clearly needs police action,” Nartatez said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The PNP-ACG has coordinated with PAOCC (Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission), the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Privacy Commission to determine those who violate the laws,” he added.

The PAOCC earlier reported that between August 2024 and January this year, it received 47,446 complaints about questionable practices allegedly being implemented by companies operating online lending applications.

Painful reality

“What is painful about this is that there are reports that many of our fellow Filipinos are suffering from depression. They don’t know how to pay off their debts,” PAOCC Executive Director Benjamin Acorda Jr. said at a press briefing in Camp Crame on Monday.

According to Nartatez, some of those victimized by the online lending companies told the police that they received threatening messages, were publicly shamed and had their list of social media contacts accessed without their permission.

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“The operation of a business must not include harassing and humiliating people. Only thugs and criminal syndicates do that,” the PNP chief said.

He urged victims to save screenshots of the threatening messages and other evidence, and to report abusive online lending firms to the nearest police station or the ACG.