With the rise of online lending apps (OLA) in the country, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) has warned the public against unregistered platforms offering loans.

This comes as the government received reports of harassment by lenders toward borrowers, including intrusions into their personal lives.

According to PAOCC executive director Gilbert Cruz, there are more than 300 OLAs currently in operation.

“There are so many of them, over 300, but now we are gradually removing them. We are taking them down because when there are many complaints about a lending app, we remove it. And for those that are really very abusive, we catch them,” he said in a televised interview.

Cruz reminded the public that not all lending apps are legitimate.

“There are bogus ones, there are abusive ones. For example, with billing, they resort to intimidation and harassment, and then they make you surrender your social media accounts, your contacts, your galleries, so they can use them as leverage when the time comes for collection,” he said.

“That’s why we released an educational video so our countrymen can be careful. But we’re not saying they shouldn’t borrow — we’re just saying they need to be careful,” he said.

Cruz said the PAOCC understands why the public turns to OLAs. “These people took out loans because they were in need, and most of them really had nothing to spend,” he said.

To assist victims, the commission has established a one-stop shop where the public can report harassment and intimidation by abusive platforms.

“Those one-stop shops that we created — like the one here in Pasay, in our office — we are the ones who help them. We take their statements, then we file the cases. If they need transportation, expenses, or food —because sometimes it takes all day to investigate — we help them so their efforts won’t be wasted when they come to us to file their complaints,” he said.

Cruz said there were cases where victims of OLA harassment took their lives due to the severe intimidation and harassment. The public may visit PAOCC offices to file complaints or send reports through Facebook.

Cruz advised borrowers to consider government-sponsored loans before resorting to private platforms. “We have government-sponsored lending like our cooperatives, we have GSIS, we have SSS — let’s first look at that to see if we can apply there,” he said.

If borrowers cannot access these, they may check with the Securities and Exchange Commission to verify legitimate online lending platforms.

Based on PAOCC records, there have been around 15,000 complaints from borrowers, though the number may be higher since only the braver borrowers have come forward.

“We are still waiting for many more people to come forward so we can work together to solve this problem of online lending,” Cruz said.