The rapid growth of lending companies and online lending platforms in the Philippines has provided millions of Filipinos with quick access to credit, but it has also spawned widespread abusive debt-collection practices. Borrowers are routinely subjected to public shaming, threats of violence, obscene language, mass messaging to contacts, posting of photos with derogatory captions, and relentless calls at all hours. These practices have driven some borrowers to extreme distress and, in tragic cases, suicide.

The Philippine legal system provides multiple layers of protection against such harassment. These protections come from statutes, regulatory circulars, the Revised Penal Code, the Civil Code, the Data Privacy Act, and the Cybercrime Prevention Act. Taken together, they make most forms of aggressive debt collection not only unlawful but criminally and administratively punishable.

1. Republic Act No. 11765 – Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act of 2022 (FCPA)

This is currently the strongest and most comprehensive law protecting borrowers from lending company harassment.

Key provisions:

Section 4 declares it the policy of the State to protect financial consumers from abusive, unfair, deceptive, and predatory practices.
Section 16 prohibits financial service providers (banks, lending companies, financing companies, and online lending platforms) from engaging in unfair, abusive, deceptive, or predatory acts or practices.
Section 23 explicitly mandates fair debt collection practices and prohibits the use of threats, intimidation, or humiliation in collecting debts.
Section 27 requires every covered institution to establish an internal Financial Consumer Protection Assistance Mechanism (FCPAM) that must resolve complaints within 10 banking days.
Section 30–35 impose administrative fines of up to ₱10,000,000 per violation and possible revocation of license/registration.
Section 37 grants the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Insurance Commission (IC), and Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) concurrent jurisdiction to investigate and impose sanctions.

The FCPA applies to all entities offering loans, including online lending apps registered as financing or lending companies with the SEC.

2. SEC Memorandum Circular No. 19, series of 2019

Prohibition on Unfair Debt Collection Practices of Financing Companies and Lending Companies

This is the most specific regulation governing non-bank lending companies (the majority of online lending apps).

Prohibited acts include:

(a) The use or threat of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person;
(b) The use of obscenities, insults, profane or abusive language;
(c) Disclosure of the names of borrowers who allegedly refuse to pay debts (public shaming/name-and-shame tactics), except as allowed under Republic Act No. 9510 (Credit Information System Act);
(d) Threatening to file criminal cases when no such crime has been committed (e.g., threatening estafa for non-payment of a purely civil loan);
(e) Communicating or threatening to communicate false credit information;
(f) Use of high-pressure tactics that intimidate or harass the borrower;
(g) Contacting third parties (employer, relatives, friends) for purposes other than obtaining location information, and even then only with strict limitations;
(h) Calling or sending messages outside reasonable hours (typically interpreted as 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.).

Violations are punishable by fines of ₱50,000 to ₱2,000,000 and/or revocation of Certificate of Authority to operate as a lending/financing company.

3. BSP Circular No. 1133, series of 2021 – Guidelines on Fair Debt Collection Practices (for BSP-supervised institutions)

Banks, quasi-banks, trust entities, and their subsidiary/affiliate credit card companies are strictly prohibited from:

Using threats, violence, or abusive language
Publicly shaming borrowers
Contacting third parties except to locate the borrower (maximum of three attempts)
Calling before 8:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m.
Visiting the borrower’s residence or workplace without prior written consent

Violations carry penalties up to ₱1,000,000 per day and license revocation.

4. Republic Act No. 10173 – Data Privacy Act of 2012

Most online lending harassment involves unauthorized access to and misuse of the borrower’s phone contacts.

Violations commonly committed by lending apps:

Requiring access to contacts as a condition for loan approval (violates principle of data minimization)
Sending mass derogatory messages or photos to all contacts
Storing and using personal data beyond the purpose of loan processing

Penalties: Imprisonment of up to 7 years and fines up to ₱5,000,000 (National Privacy Commission and courts have awarded moral damages of ₱50,000–₱200,000 in successful complaints).

5. Republic Act No. 10175 – Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012

Common charges filed against collectors and lending app operators:

Cyberlibel (Section 4(c)(4)) – posting defamatory statements or edited photos online
Online threats (grave threats, grave coercion)
Violation of Data Privacy Act committed through ICT

Penalties are one degree higher than the Revised Penal Code equivalents.

6. Revised Penal Code Provisions Regularly Used

Article 282 – Grave threats (up to 7 years imprisonment)
Article 283 – Light threats
Article 285 – Other light threats
Article 287 – Light coercions
Article 358 – Slander by deed
Article 353 – Libel
Article 131 – Unjust vexation (arresto menor or fine) – the most commonly filed criminal complaint against collectors

These cases are filed with the prosecutor’s office or directly in court (for unjust vexation and light threats, the borrower can file directly in Municipal Trial Court).

7. Civil Code – Abuse of Rights and Damages

Article 19 – Every person must act with justice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty and good faith.
Article 20 – Every person who contravenes the tenor of law is liable for damages.
Article 26 – Every person shall respect the dignity, personality, privacy, and peace of mind of his neighbors.
Articles 2217–2219 – Moral damages for mental anguish, fright, serious anxiety, wounded feelings.

Borrowers regularly recover ₱50,000–₱300,000 in moral damages, plus attorney’s fees, in successful civil suits against lending companies.

Practical Remedies Available to Borrowers

Immediate cease-and-desist demand letter (sent via email/LBC with return card) citing RA 11765, SEC MC 19-2019, and threatening multiple complaints.
File simultaneous complaints (recommended strategy):

(a) SEC – for violation of MC 19-2019 and RA 11765 (online via sec.gov.ph/complaint)
(b) BSP – if the lender is a bank or subsidiary (consumercomplaints@bsp.gov.ph)
(c) National Privacy Commission – for data privacy violation (complaints@privacy.gov.ph)
(d) Barangay for mediation (required for claims ≤ ₱1,000,000 before court action)
(e) Prosecutor’s office or court – criminal cases (unjust vexation, libel, threats)
(f) Small Claims Court or regular civil action – for moral/exemplary damages (no lawyer required for claims ≤ ₱1,000,000)
Request credit information correction from Credit Information Corporation (CIC) if negative information was falsely reported.

Landmark Cases and Precedents (as of December 2025)

SEC has revoked or suspended the certificates of authority of over 300 online lending apps since 2020 for unfair collection practices.
Several criminal convictions for cyberlibel and unjust vexation against collectors have been obtained in Quezon City, Manila, and Cebu courts (2022–2025).
NPC has imposed multimillion-peso fines on lending apps for data privacy breaches.
Regional Trial Courts have awarded moral damages ranging from ₱100,000 to ₱500,000 in civil suits against lending companies for harassment (notable cases: RTC Quezon City Branch 215, 2023; RTC Manila Branch 28, 2024).

Conclusion

Lending company harassment is not merely “part of borrowing money.” It is illegal under multiple laws and regulations, with severe criminal, civil, and administrative consequences for violators. Borrowers who experience threats, public shaming, obscene language, or unauthorized contact with third parties should immediately document all messages, calls, and posts, then file complaints simultaneously with the SEC, BSP, NPC, and the police/prosecutor. The combined effect of these complaints almost always forces the lender to stop harassment and, in many cases, results in license revocation and substantial monetary awards to the borrower.

No borrower in the Philippines is required to endure humiliation or threats for a civil debt. The law is firmly on the side of the consumer.