The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is pushing for the relaxation of the country’s decades-old bank secrecy laws, arguing that current anti-scam legislation is insufficient to track a broad range of criminal activities.

While the recently enacted Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) provides new tools to combat digital fraud, BSP General Counsel Roberto Figueroa told reporters that its scope remains narrow.

Figueroa noted that AFASA limits the use of gathered information strictly to the investigation and prosecution of scam-specific violations. In contrast, an amendment to bank secrecy rules would allow regulators to probe any suspicious activity in the financial system, regardless of the underlying crime.

“Relaxing or easing the Bank Secrecy Law would have a broader scope. It doesn’t need to involve a violation of AFASA—it could cover any kind of suspicious activity. That would cover any kind of investigation for any other crime,” Figueroa said.

“We are still pushing for the amendment—or easing—of the Bank Secrecy Law, because we believe it would have a broader reach in preventing a wider range of crimes and offenses,” he added.

Figueroa also noted that the money-muling definition under AFASA can be applied in pursuing corrupt politicians, describing it as a positive “unintended consequence.” Under AFASA, money mulling covers funds from a crime that are deposited, withdrawn, or transferred through financial accounts, including bank accounts and e-wallets.

If adopted, the reform would serve as a high-level tool for investigating any crime, ensuring that financial accounts cannot be easily used to conceal illegal proceeds.

To address limitations on information sharing, the BSP signed separate information-sharing agreements (ISAs) last week with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“These arrangements allow lawful sharing of confidential financial account information to support investigations into scams and related offenses,” the BSP said in a statement. Figueroa added that he expects several fraud-related cases to be elevated to the central bank.

Deputy Governor and AFASA technical working group adviser Elmore O. Capule said the BSP remains committed to working with partner agencies to ensure AFASA is implemented properly, with discipline and integrity.

“Through sustained coordination and mutual trust, we will reinforce the resilience of our financial system and better protect the Filipino public from those who seek to exploit it,” Capule said.

According to Figueroa, the primary objective of the new framework is to encourage victims to report financial crimes.

Meanwhile, he underscored the need for private financial institutions to cooperate in the campaign and in the war being waged against fraud. “We require the participation of both regulators and the regulated.” 

CICC Executive Director Undersecretary Renato Paraiso reported during the ceremonial signing that the CICC received 18,000 complaints in 2025, of which 22.2 percent involved online threats.

He said financial fraud has become a major cyber threat. Of these fraud reports, over 1,000 directly affected citizens’ finances. “We also recorded more than 100 cases of sophisticated credit card fraud and a growing number of direct bank account takeovers,” he added.