The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) have signed an information-sharing agreement aimed at strengthening the investigation and prosecution of financial account scams under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), enabling authorities to respond more quickly to online fraud.

The agreement, signed on 22 July at the BSP head office in Manila by BSP General Counsel Roberto L. Figueroa, representing Governor Eli M. Remolona Jr., and DoJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix L. Ty, establishes procedures for the DoJ to request and obtain financial account information from the BSP’s Consumer Account Protection Office in accordance with AFASA and BSP Circular No. 1214.

Safeguards

It also sets safeguards to ensure that shared information is used only for authorized purposes and protected under existing laws.

“Stronger institutional collaboration enhances our collective ability to identify organized actors who exploit the financial system, disrupt their operations, and hold them accountable under the law,” Figueroa said.

BSP Deputy Governor Elmore O. Capule, adviser to the AFASA Technical Working Group, said the agreement “sends a very strong message that the government is fighting as one to protect the Filipino public.”

Faster intervention

The BSP said the arrangement will help authorities trace individuals behind suspicious financial transactions more quickly, allowing faster intervention to prevent additional losses from scams.

The agreement follows similar information-sharing partnerships forged by the BSP in February with the National Bureau of Investigation, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, and the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of efforts to strengthen interagency coordination against financial fraud.