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BY RESEL JOY TIANERO
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Monday, January 23, 2017
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ILOILO City – Engaging in the business of lending money without the required permits from the government is illegal, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Those in this activity violate Republic Act 9474 or the Lending Company Regulation Act of 2007 and would be charged, said Atty. Russel Ildesa, SEC Region 6 chief.
He particularly warned Indian nationals engaged in money lending but not registered with SEC.
These were the “Bombay” or “5-6” money lenders that President Rodrigo Duterte ordered arrested for usury. They exact 20-percent interest per month on loans to cash-trapped Filipinos.
Bombay is the old name of the port city of Mumbai, the financial hub of India.
Under the Lending Company Regulation Act of 2007, violators are fined between P10,000 to P50,000 and may also be imprisoned from six months to 10 years, said Ildesa in a radio interview.
Illegal money lenders have until April 30, 2017 to register and make their business legitimate, said Ildesa.
But a spokesperson of the Indian community in this city denied that his compatriots engaged in the money lending business were charging 20-percent interest on loans.
According to Kamal Jit Singh, the terms of payment vary and depend on the mutual agreement of both the lender and the borrower.
He estimated around 500 Indian nationals engaged in the business of lending money in Iloilo, Antique and Kalibo.
Singh also claimed “95 percent” of the Indian money lenders in their area already have the necessary permits.
They respect the President’s order to stop usurious money lending in the country, he stressed.
Meanwhile, National Bureau of Investigation Region 6 director Max Salvador said his office will wait for the guidelines from their central office before moving against the “Bombays.”
He also said they will be coordinating with the Bureau of Immigration./PN
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