BM MOSUELA PROPOSES STRICT ENFORCEMENT OF ANTI-LOAN SHARKS ORDINANCE

By: Rafael C. Mosuela, GPC-SP

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During the privilege speech of Board Member Jennifer C. Mosuela, she proposed the strict enforcement of the Provincial Ordinance no. 56-2014 or Anti-Loan Sharks Ordinance of 2014 during the Second Regular Session of the 22nd Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) on July 8, 2019 at the SP Session Hall, Provincial Capitol, City of San Fernando, La Union.

She recalls in the column of the Philippine Star where it reads that after hearing how so many Israelites were suffering in poverty and being charged to one percent for money, grain, new wine, and olive oil. The prophet Jeremiah angrily revoke the nobles and officials of the city for charging their own people interest. Given the times and culture we live in, he might find the one percent interest rate surprising in a small matter considering that in today’s Philippines, thousand if not millions of Filipinos are paying interest on loans and down payments 20-30%.

BM Mosuela emphasized that the business model of lending has ruled because there is very little government monitoring and regulation on this type of transactions for fly-by-night lenders. There is absence of law and legislated limit on how much interest lenders can charge.

She further added that our province is very fortunate because the SP enacted an ordinance prohibiting persons who are not duly licensed to engage in the business of lending from lending to borrowers at exorbitant rates on interests and providing penalties for violation thereof authored by her father former BM Reynaldo Mosuela.

According to BM Mosuela, the ordinance was very difficult to enforce because more often the borrowers are reluctant to lodge a complaint against the loan sharks. Nonetheless, she said, we have to persevere until we succeed in combating these activities.

She then proposes to furnish certified true copies of the ordinance to all Punong Barangays and Chiefs of Police in the province for their information and guidance.