Senator Joel Villanueva welcomed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ proposal to shift to a principles-based framework for salary-based personal loans, calling it a timely and sensible reform that puts borrowers’ actual capacity to pay at the center of lending decisions.
“Ganitong diskarte po ang inaasahan natin mula sa pamunuan ng Bangko Sentral na nag-uutos sa ating mga bangko na aralin ang kasalukuyang estado ng mga may-utang, alamin ang kakayahan nilang magbayad, at saka ipatupad ang pag-restructure ng kanilang utang,” said Villanueva, chair of the Senate committee on banks. “Masasabi po natin na patas ang ganitong hakbang, at matagal na rin po ang ating hinintay para ipatupad ito ng BSP.”
The BSP’s draft circular proposes moving away from prescriptive limits on loan tenor toward an approach that allows BSP-supervised financial institutions to set repayment terms based on a borrower’s creditworthiness, repayment history, and loan purpose — with terms open to mutual agreement between lender and borrower, subject to sound credit risk management standards.
The proposed change removes the existing BSP directive on setting the original loan term for education, hospitalization, emergency, travel, household, and other personal consumption needs to three years and extendible up to a maximum of five years in meritorious circumstances.
Villanueva said the proposal aligns with the broader legislative thrust of protecting Filipino borrowers from debt-servicing arrangements that bear no relation to their actual financial situation.
The senator also said that the Senate committee on banks is prepared to exercise its oversight function to ensure the smooth implementation of the policy change.
He cited both the ongoing moratorium on GSIS loans and the SSS’s recent announcement as evidence that the pressure on ordinary Filipinos has reached a point that demands a coordinated, systemic response — not piecemeal relief.
“We are seeing the same distress signal coming from multiple directions at once. The BSP is proposing flexibility for private borrowers. The GSIS moratorium is now in effect for government workers. And now the SSS is saying it is studying a loan moratorium and penalty condonation for its own members and employers,” Villanueva said.
“These are not isolated decisions. They are all pointing to the same reality on the ground,” he added.
Villanueva welcomed the SSS announcement, but said the language of active study and ongoing review needed to translate into action without further delay.
“Tiwala po tayong gagawing prayoridad ng SSS ang pagbalangkas sa kanilang mga panuntunan. Ngunit nakikiusap po tayo sa SSS na huwag pag-antayin nang matagal ang 40 milyong miyembro nito. Lubhang napakabigat ng suliranin ng ating mga manggagawa at mga employer. Hindi po kathang-isip ang problema natin ngayon, kaya dapat ramdam kaagad ang solusyong ihahain sa mga manggagawa at employer,” Villanueva said.
Villanueva also called on the Home Development Mutual Fund to consider extending a reprieve on existing loans of qualified borrowers.
