Villar: Landmark AFASA law now delivering results in fight vs scammers

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Mark Villar, Principal Author of the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), welcomed the law’s latest gains, saying it is now producing concrete results in the country’s fight against online financial crimes.

One year after AFASA took effect, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has already filed more than 500 cases against scammers, fraudsters, money mules, and individuals involved in financial account scams.

**READ: BSP: Antifraud law may target corrupt officials again **

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“Bilang Principal Sponsor ng AFASA noong 19th Congress at Chairman ng Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, ipinasa natin ang batas na ito upang tulungang mabawi ang perang na-scam sa mga biktima ng financial crimes.” Said Villar.

“Mahigit 500 kaso na ang naisampa laban sa mga scammer—patunay na may pangil na ang AFASA. Bilang Principal Author ng batas, ikinagagalak kong makita na mas mabilis nang nakakakilos ang ating mga law enforcement agencies upang habulin at papanagutin ang mga kriminal na nagnanakaw ng pinaghirapang pera ng ating mga kababayan,” he added.

The senator said AFASA was crafted not only to strengthen the government’s campaign against online financial crimes but also to ensure that banks and financial institutions adopt stronger safeguards to protect their clients.

Under AFASA, banks and other BSP-supervised financial institutions were given until June 2026 to upgrade their systems and implement stronger fraud management measures, including advanced fraud detection and enhanced authentication for high-risk transactions. With the compliance period now over, financial institutions that fail to meet these security requirements may be held liable for unauthorized transactions resulting from their noncompliance and could be required to reimburse clients for losses arising from scam incidents that occur due to the banks lack of fraud management systems.

Senator Villar also emphasized that the AFASA law also gives victims faster remedies by allowing banks to immediately place temporary holds on suspicious transactions, preventing stolen funds from being withdrawn while investigations are ongoing.

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“Hindi lamang pagpaparusa sa mga scammer ang layunin ng AFASA. Mahalaga ring matulungan agad ang mga biktima. Kaya binibigyan ng batas ng mas mabilis na paraan upang maharang ang mga kahina-hinalang transaksyon at mapigilan ang tuluyang pagkawala ng kanilang pinaghirapang pera,” Villar said.

The senator reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring the full implementation of AFASA to strengthen public confidence in the country’s digital financial system.

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“Habang patuloy na nagbabago ang teknolohiya, kailangan ding patuloy na umunlad ang ating mga batas. Bilang Principal Author ng AFASA, sisiguraduhin nating ganap itong maipatutupad laban sa mga online scammer at mapanatili ang tiwala ng publiko sa ating digital financial system, Asahan nyo rin po ang patuloy nating pagsusulong ng mga batas at reporma para sa mas ligtas na banking sector sa bansa” Villar concluded.