spot_img
29 C
Philippines
Thursday, March 28, 2024

House panel okays ‘Bangko sa Baryo’

- Advertisement -

The House committee on banks and financial institutions has approved the proposed Bangko sa Baryo bill which seeks to widen the access of the country’unbanked sectors to financial services.

This developed as deputy majority leader and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte welcomed the approval of House Bill 5629 at the committee level, saying the measure was in keeping with President Rodrigo Duterte’s agenda to harness digital technology in accelerating inclusive growth.  

Villafuerte said his measure would now be easier to implement with the National ID system that the government was about to put in place, following its signing into law of the Philippine Identification System Act by Duterte last Aug. 6. 

“With its  prompt approval of this bill at the plenary level, the House of Representatives will be sending yet another message of its unequivocal support for President Duterte’s vision for high growth and financial inclusion for all Filipinos, most especially those in faraway barangays that have remained out of the economic mainstream,” Villafuerte said. 

“In step with the Duterte administration’s goal of financial inclusion for all Filipinos,”  Villafuerte added.

- Advertisement -

He urged the House leadership to prioritize the approval of HB 5629 in support of the government’s stepped-up drive for financial inclusion. 

Under the bill, there would be “cash agents” to help serve the banking needs of people living in faraway places without banks. 

Authorized cash agents, under Villafuerte’s proposal, “should be able to assist in performing a broad range of bank services, including forwarding account opening applications, cash-in and cash-out services, and initial customer identity verification—especially for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism efforts.”

Villafuerte said HB 5629 would help encourage saving and investing among Filipinos, of whom 60 percent remain unbanked, according to World Bank estimates.

In addition, Villafuerte said in the bill that more than 36 percent of all municipalities in the country had no banking presence.

Citing Asian Development Bank studies, Villafuerte said only 28 percent of Filipino adults own a bank account and only about 15 percent save money with a formal financial institution over a 12-month period, while only 10 percent borrow money from formal institutions over a similar timeframe.

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles