Dear Atty. Nico,
I am writing to you because I think that I am being harassed by my creditor for a debt that I owe him. I would like to know if “sending me text messages as well as going to my office every other day, just to ask if I could already pay him” is considered harassment; hence, allowing me to file a case against him?
Thank you for your time.
Michael
Dear Michael,
As a general rule, making a debtor settle a debt by the creditor or his/her agent is not considered as harassment because under the law, the former is obligated to make payment to the latter. However, there are certain instances when the same can be tantamount to harassment, hence, a violation of the right of the debtor:
1) In cases of credit card issuers, Section 19 of RA 10870 (An Act Regulating the Philippine Credit Card Industry), it mentions therein that “a credit card issuer or collection agent shall not harass, abuse or oppress any person or engage in any unfair practices, as may be defined by BSP rules and regulations, in connection with the collection of any credit card debt”;
2) Under Article 287 of the Revised Penal Code, any person who, by means of violence, shall seize anything belonging to his debtor for the purpose of applying the same to the payment of the debt is considered as “light coercion”, hence, punishable by imprisonment as well as an imposition of fine; and
3) In the case of Unicapital, Inc. vs Consing Jr., the Supreme Court held that “when a right is exercised in a manner which does not conform with the norm enshrined in Article 19 and results in damage to another, a legal wrong is thereby committed for which the wrongdoer must be held responsible. But a right, though by itself legal because [it is] recognized or granted by law as such, may nevertheless become the source of some illegality”.
Under the facts given, the actions taken by your creditor cannot be considered as harassment as they do not show any sign of “abuse” or “oppression.” On the contrary, he is merely exercising his right to be properly compensated with the settlement of the debt.
Atty. Nico Antonio
