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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Zubiri seeks stricter regulations on online lending amid online gambling woes

Zubiri seeks stricter regulations on online lending amid online gambling woes

Published Sep 5, 2025 02:26 pm
Senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri has said that as part of the curbing the country's online gambling problem, the government must also place tighter regulations on predatory Online Lending Applications (OLAs).
Senator Juan Miguel
Senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri (Senate PRIB photo)
Zubiri said this during the Development Budget Coordination Committee briefing on the 2026 national budget.
The Deputy Minority Leader thanked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for its move to disallow online gambling links on online payment platforms, but he warned that online gambling will not die out if online lending continues unabated. 
“Online lending apps are also facilitators of our online gambling problem. Kapag natalo ang mga tao sa online gambling, uutang sila sa online lending apps, and then when they cannot pay, there is a shame campaign to get them,” explained Zubiri.
“They are threatened by these loan sharks. And that is when they commit suicide, commit crimes,” he added.
Zubiri decried sky-high interest rates in the online lending sector, citing that some OLAs collect interest of up to 20 percent a month, on par with the notorious 5-6 money lending scheme.
The Senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, appealed that OLAs be placed under the jurisdiction of the BSP, and their registration and regulation be aligned with other money lending institutions.
Present regulations on OLAs are lenient, requiring only PHP 1 million in capitalization and registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Microloaning institutions and cooperative banks, meanwhile, undergo exhaustive background checks and “take years to get BSP approval,” according to Zubiri.
“Magkapatid sa sugal ‘yang online gambling at online lending apps (Online gambling and online lending apps go hand-in-hand). And it is so easy. You can get a loan approved within 30 minutes,” he said. 
“And with interest rates of 20 percent a month, talagang mamamatay ang mga tao sa utang. Either magpapakamatay o papatay ng ibang tao para mabayaran ang utang nila (And with interest rates of 20 percent a month, people will really be crushed by debt. They will either commit suicide or kill someone else just to pay off their debt),” he added. 

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Migz Zubiri online gambling online lending apps Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)
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