On July 20, 2024, Republic Act (R.A.) No. 12010 or the “Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act” (AFASA). The salient provisions under the AFASA emphasize the protections afforded to an owner of a financial account, and the concomitant mandate of institutions such as banks, non-banks, payment and financial service provides under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to protect said owner or client’s financial account from prohibited acts constituting financial account scamming.

The Data Privacy Act of 2012 or Republic Act (R.A.) No. 10173 states in its declaration of policy that the State is to protect the fundamental human right of privacy while still balancing and ensuring the free flow of information. Pursuant to the Act and such State policy, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) was established.

Pursuant to Article 137 of R.A. No. 9520 also known as the “Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008,” Rule 13 of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. No. 9520, and Rule IV of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) Omnibus Rules of Procedure, the following supplemental rules of procedure governing voluntary arbitration before the CDA are hereby promulgated.

The world of online transactions has been growing exponentially ever since the pandemic happened. It made everything convenient and it brought the world closer to us. However, despite the positive feedback that online transactions have given us, there have been a lot of horror stories such as scams, fraud, and other issues arising from online transactions.

The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) is the lead government agency in the Philippines that is mandated by law to promote the sustained growth and development of the country’s cooperatives, to the end that they become instruments of social justice and inclusive economic progress. Part of the functions of the CDA under the CDA Charter of 2019 or Republic Act (R.A.) No. 11364, is the inspection of cooperatives. Pursuant to this, the CDA has issued Memorandum Circular No. 2024-10, entitled the “Revised Guidelines on the Conduct of Inspection of Cooperatives” (“Guidelines”).

The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) has recently issued Memorandum Circular 2024-04, establishing updated guidelines for the creation and operation of cooperative branch offices. These guidelines provide clear instructions for cooperatives aiming to expand their services by establishing branch offices, ensuring that growth remains orderly, compliant, and beneficial to cooperative members.

The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) issued Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2024-16 entitled “Reiteration of the Prohibitions under Articles 45, 48, and 49 of Republic Act (RA) No. 9520″ to serve as guidance to cooperative officers to uphold the best interest of their members pursuant to the universally accepted cooperative principles and to refrain from using their privileges and the cooperative’s financial resources for their personal gains and to benefit their business interests in another company where they have personal investment or interest.