A landmark case

Published by rudy Date posted on July 16, 2010

Sometime last year, the Supreme Court come out with a ruling penned by Associate Justice Presbiterio Velasco that banks and lending institutions, including those issuing credit cards, cannot and should not charge more than 2 percent monthly, or 24 percent annually, for interest.

The case against the Ayala-owned Bank of the Philippine Islands was filed by a borrower of the bank, who claimed that the bank’s practice of charging more than 2 percent a month—even going beyond 36 percent annually—was usurious.

I wrote about this last year, and I considered it a landmark case in the wake of the abuses of banks, lending institutions and even those issuing credit cards to charge interests at exorbitant rates. These companies usually compound the interest with the penalty for late payment.

I used to have four credit cards, and now it’s down to three: two from Citibank (Gold Visa and Mastercard) and one from BPI- a Mastercard. And I’ve always considered that my payment of 3.5 percent interest for the use of those cards is a ripoff.

Eventually I intend to have only one credit card. Yes, a credit card could be useful because carrying cash these days is dangerous. But it can also be a debt trap.

When this Supreme Court decision came out last year, I urged the Bangko Sentral to require all banks to comply. Unfortunately, nothing has happened, and it would seem that even the BSP is in cahoots with banks, lending institutions and issuers of credit cards to continue abusing consumers and the public.

Santa Banana, when will we ever get relief from all these abuses if the BSP cannot even implement a Supreme Court ruling? It’s pure incompetence!

July 2025

Nutrition Month
“Give us much more than P50 increase
for proper nutrition!”

Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.

Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar.  Reject Military!

#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos

Time to support & empower survivors. Time to spark a global conversation. Time for #GenerationEquality to #orangetheworld!

July


3 July – International Day of Cooperatives
3 Ju
ly – International Plastic Bag Free Day
 
5 July –
World Youth Skills Day 
7 July – Global Forgiveness Day
11 July – World Population Day 
17 July – World Day for
International Justice
28 July – World Nature Conservation Day
30 July – World Day against Trafficking in Persons 


Monthly Observances:

Schools Safety Month

Nutrition Month
National Disaster Consciousness Month

Weekly Observances:

Week 2: Cultural Communities Week
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise
Development Week
Week 3: National Science and
Technology Week
National Disability Prevention and
Rehabilitation Week
July 1-7:
National Culture Consciousness Week
July 13-19:
Philippines Business Week
Week ending last Saturday of July:
Arbor Week

 

Daily Observances:

First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines

Categories

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.