The Makabayan Bloc sought a congressional inquiry on Monday into the recent unauthorized transactions and financial losses in GCash accounts, affecting numerous GCash users.
The Gabriela Women’s Party led the filing of House Resolution 2068, urging the House committees on banks and financial intermediaries, and information and technology “to hold GCash accountable for these irregularities that affect Filipinos who rely on the platform for their daily financial transactions.”
“We demand GCash to immediately return the stolen funds to affected users and explain how these mass unauthorized transactions happened despite their supposed security measures. This is unacceptable especially since many Filipinos rely on e-wallets for their daily transactions and family expenses,” Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said.
The lawmaker emphasized that the incident exposes the ineffectiveness of the SIM Card Registration Act, which was marketed as a solution to cyber fraud, but has instead potentially created more vulnerabilities through massive data collection.
The incident, according to Brosas, has clearly failed to prevent scams and fraud. Instead, it has made millions of Filipinos vulnerable to data breaches while their hard-earned money remains at risk.
Brosas stressed the need for Congress to come up with “stronger regulation of fintech companies and better consumer protection mechanisms.”
HR 2068 was co-authored by ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, who also denounced GCash for dismissing such incidents as isolated cases.
“We demand transparency regarding the exact number of affected users and the concrete steps being taken to prevent such incidents from recurring. The arbitrary deactivation of accounts without due process is also unacceptable,” Castro said.
Castro called on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and concerned House committees to conduct an investigation into these incidents and review existing regulations on digital payment platforms.
“We need stronger regulatory frameworks to protect consumers using digital payment services. These platforms handle people’s hard-earned money, and they must be held to the highest standards of accountability and transparency,” Castro stressed.
Another Makabayan Bloc member, Rep. Raoul Manuel of Kabataan Party-list also co-authored HR 2068.
Makabayan Bloc files resolution to investigate GCash glitches
