BSP orders financial institutions to boost efforts vs. digital vote buying, selling

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has reminded local financial institutions to step up their surveillance and monitoring initiatives in a bid to stop digital vote buying and selling ahead of the upcoming polls later this year.

Under Memorandum 2021-074, the BSP mandated financial institutions to reassess their current controls in detecting or preventing the possible surge in fraudulent accounts and transactions leading up to the national polls.

The central bank also ordered institutions to consider a number of scenarios in calibrating their fraud management systems, and account and transaction monitoring rules and parameters.

Such scenarios include the concentration and/or significant number of account registrations in areas identified to have rampant vote buying and selling, large cash transactions amid the election period, unusual transaction flows, and unusual volume and/or value in cash in/cash out channels.

“[T]he BSP strongly calls for the adoption of enhanced surveillance and monitoring measures to prevent the misuse of the financial system as a conduit for this illegal activity,” BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier said in the memorandum.

The BSP said it is closely coordinating with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to reduce, if not curb, election vote buying or selling through digital financial platforms.

At least 65.5 million voters are expected to cast their votes in the 2022 national and local elections, after 8.147 million voters were added during the registration period.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez last week said it is “unlikely” for the 2022 polls to be canceled due to a COVID-19 surge, but noted that this could be postponed in certain areas. — RSJ, GMA News