Debt-Collection Harassment Rules in the Philippines

Last updated: Philippine law as of recent years. This is general information, not legal advice.

1) Big picture

Debt may be collectible—but harassment is not. Philippine law allows creditors to pursue lawful collection, yet prohibits abusive, misleading, or privacy-violating tactics. Whether the creditor is a bank, lending/financing company, insurer/HMO, utility, telco, or a third-party collection agency, each is subject to sector regulators and general laws that bar unfair collection practices.

2) Legal sources you should know

While the Philippines has no single “FDCPA-style” statute, the rules come from several pillars:

Financial Consumer Protection Act (FCPA) (Rep. Act No. 11765)
- Declares abusive, deceptive, or unfair collection practices illegal for financial service providers and their third-party agents.
- Empowers regulators (BSP, SEC, Insurance Commission, CDA) to investigate, order refunds, assess penalties, and suspend or revoke licenses.
Sector regulations and circulars
- BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas): banks, credit-card issuers, e-money issuers, quasi-banks, and their collection agents must follow market-conduct and consumer-protection rules (e.g., no harassment or disclosure to third parties; reasonable call/contact practices; proper identification; fair dispute handling).
- SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission): financing and lending companies are expressly barred from unfair debt-collection practices (e.g., threats, intimidation, profane language, public shaming, contacting the borrower’s contacts who are not co-makers/guarantors, and similar acts).
- Insurance Commission: insurers, HMOs, and their collectors must adhere to fair market-conduct standards; harassment and misrepresentation are prohibited.
Data Privacy Act (Rep. Act No. 10173)
- Prohibits unauthorized processing and disclosure of personal data. “Shaming” borrowers (e.g., group texts/posts tagging contacts, contacting employers or relatives without basis) can trigger privacy violations, administrative fines, and even criminal liability.
Revised Penal Code & related criminal laws
- Grave threats, grave coercion, light threats, unjust vexation, extortion, libel/slander, alarm and scandal, and anti-wiretapping violations can be committed during abusive collection.
- Faking court documents, pretending to be a public officer or a lawyer, or threatening arrest for a civil debt can separately be criminal.
Civil law & consumer law
- Tort/“quasi-delict” liability for damages (moral/exemplary damages) due to harassment; Consumer Act principles on unfair or unconscionable acts; breach of bank secrecy/confidentiality in some contexts.

3) What counts as harassment or unfair collection?

Regulators consistently flag the following as prohibited (or strong indicators of illegality):

Threats of violence, arrest, criminal charges (for a purely civil debt), deportation, or public exposure.
Profanity, insults, or degrading/obscene language.
Public shaming, “doxxing,” or contacting third parties (employers, co-workers, relatives, friends, people in your phonebook) to pressure payment—unless they are legitimate co-makers/guarantors or there is a lawful, narrow “location information” exception, and even then no disclosure of the debt amount/status.
Multiple or incessant calls/messages calculated to annoy, alarm, or abuse; robocalls that circumvent consent settings.
Calling at patently unreasonable hours or at the workplace after being told such calls are not allowed.
Misrepresentation: claiming to be a lawyer, judge, sheriff, government official, or to have filed a case, obtained a warrant, or scheduled a garnishment/levy when none exists.
Fabricated documents that look like court orders, demand letters “from a law firm” that does not exist, or “subpoenas” not issued by a court/prosecutor.
False statements about the amount owed, the legal effect of non-payment, or consequences beyond what the contract and law allow.
Using social media in a way that exposes the debt to others (posting on timelines, tagging contacts, public comments, or messages visible to third parties).
Unlawful data processing: scraping your contacts, using permissions from an app to mass-message people, or sharing your debt to third parties without a valid legal basis.

4) What collectors may do (within limits)

Contact you directly through reasonable channels (call, SMS, email, letter) at reasonable times, identify themselves and the creditor, and discuss the account.
Send demand letters or make settlement offers, including restructuring or hardship programs.
File a civil action (e.g., Small Claims or regular civil case) and, upon winning, pursue lawful execution (e.g., garnishment) through the courts.
Contact co-makers/guarantors to the extent of their legal obligations (still no harassment or public disclosure).

Key guardrails: transparency, proportionality, privacy protection, and truthfulness.

5) Your rights when you receive aggressive calls

Right to be treated fairly and respectfully.
Right to privacy—no disclosure to third parties without legal basis.
Right to accurate information about the debt: amount due, breakdown (principal/interest/fees), creditor identity, and the collector’s authority.
Right to reasonable contact windows and to request no calls at work or to channel communications to a particular address/email.
Right to dispute the amount or raise fraud/identity theft and to ask for supporting documents.
Right to complain to the proper regulator and to seek damages in court.

6) Practical playbook if you’re being harassed

A. Document everything

Keep screenshots, call logs, voicemails, caller IDs, demand letters, envelopes, and chat logs.
Note dates, times, what was said, and by whom.
Preserve evidence of threats, shaming, or third-party contacts.

B. Set boundaries—clearly and in writing

Tell the collector (SMS/email is fine) to:
- Identify themselves and the creditor every time.
- Contact only through your chosen channel and during reasonable hours.
- Stop contacting your employer, relatives, or contacts.
- Send a written breakdown of the account and their authority to collect.
If calls at work are disruptive or prohibited by company policy, say so explicitly.

C. Escalate to the right venue

Banks/credit-card issuers/e-money/quasi-banks → BSP Consumer Assistance.
Lending/financing companies and their apps → SEC (market-conduct/collection harassment).
Insurers/HMOs → Insurance Commission.
Privacy/data-sharing or shaming issues → National Privacy Commission (NPC).
Criminal acts (threats, extortion, fake warrants, defamation) → PNP/NBI and the Office of the Prosecutor.
Civil relief → Small Claims (no lawyers required) or regular civil case for damages/injunction.

D. Consider settlement options

Ask about restructuring, temporary hardship programs, or condonation of certain charges. Get agreements in writing.

7) Small Claims, barangay conciliation, and litigation basics

Small Claims: Money claims up to a threshold set by the Supreme Court (significantly higher today than in the past) are filed under the Rules on Small Claims, designed for speed and no-lawyer appearances. This is common for credit-card and personal loan suits.
Barangay conciliation: Often required before filing civil cases between natural persons residing in the same city/municipality (with multiple exceptions). If a corporation or government entity is a party, barangay conciliation typically does not apply.
Court process: Creditors must sue and win before they can garnish wages/bank accounts. There is no arrest for non-payment of a purely civil debt (unless criminal fraud, estafa, or other crimes are proven in a separate case).

8) Special issues with apps and online lending

Many complaints involve contact scraping and group shaming. These raise Data Privacy Act and SEC market-conduct violations.
Demands to access your phonebook/photo storage, or to post on social media, are not blanket consent to disclose your debt publicly.
If an app threatens to post your photo or message your contacts, collect evidence immediately and report to NPC and SEC.

9) Employers and workplaces

Debt is a private matter. Collectors generally may not disclose your debt to your employer or co-workers or demand payroll deductions without your specific, lawful authorization or a court order.
Once you tell them no calls at work, continued calls can support a harassment finding.

10) For creditors and collection agencies: a compliance checklist

Obtain and retain clear authority to collect (engagement letter/agency agreement).
Ensure all collectors identify themselves, the creditor, and state accurate amounts.
Use reasonable contact practices; keep call attempts proportionate.
Never threaten arrest, deportation, or public exposure; never impersonate officials.
Do not contact third parties (except co-makers/guarantors or narrow, lawful location-only queries without disclosing the debt).
Respect opt-out requests for workplace calls and honor preferred channels.
Protect personal data; limit access and sharing; conduct DPIAs for apps/outsourcing; ensure processor contracts with adequate privacy clauses.
Maintain a complaints log and escalation process; remediate promptly.
Train staff on FCPA, sector rules, privacy, and evidence retention.

11) Frequently asked questions

Q1: Can they call me every day? They may follow up, but repeated, incessant, or ill-timed calls meant to annoy or pressure you can qualify as harassment. Ask for a reasonable schedule and a written statement of account.

Q2: Can they arrest me for non-payment? No. Non-payment of a civil debt is not a criminal offense. Arrest requires a criminal case and warrant from a court—not a collector’s threat.

Q3: Can they tell my family or office about my debt? Generally no. Disclosure to third parties is restricted; it can violate privacy and market-conduct rules, especially if used to shame you.

Q4: Can they record our call without my consent? Secret recording can implicate the Anti-Wiretapping Act. As a rule, parties should obtain consent before recording phone calls.

Q5: Do I still have to pay if they harass me? Harassment does not erase a valid debt, but it gives you remedies (administrative, civil, criminal). You can pursue those while negotiating fairly or paying under corrected terms.

12) Templates you can use

Boundary-setting message (send by SMS/email/chat)

“Good day. Please identify yourself and the creditor in each contact. Kindly communicate only via [your chosen channel] and not at my workplace. Do not contact my employer, relatives, or contacts, and do not disclose my account to third parties. Please send a written breakdown of the obligation and your authority to collect. Harassing language, threats of arrest, and public disclosure are unlawful. Thank you.”

Regulator-bound complaint outline

Your name/contact details; creditor and collector name.
Account number (if any).
Dates/times, channels used, summaries/quotes of abusive statements.
Evidence list (screenshots, audio/voicemail, call logs).
Relief sought (stop harassment, correct amounts/fees, damages/refund, regulatory sanction).

13) Key takeaways

Aggressive, abusive, or privacy-violating collection practices are illegal.
You can set contact boundaries, require written validation, and escalate to the proper regulator.
Keep paying or negotiating in good faith on legitimate debts—but document and report harassment.

Need tailored guidance?

Circumstances differ depending on the creditor (bank vs. app-based lender, etc.). If you summarize your situation (who’s calling, what they said, how often, and any documents you signed), I can help you draft a targeted plan and a regulator-ready complaint.