On 9 September 2019, the Philippine National Privacy Commission ("NPC") and the Singapore Personal Data Protection Commission ("PDPC") signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU"), which provides for the areas of mutual exchange of information and assistance to facilitate cross-border data flows, such as participation in the APEC CBPR and the ASEAN Cross-Border Data Flows Mechanism.
With the signing of the MOU, the Philippines and Singapore envision exchanges of information and best practices to foster innovation. Both countries will also work on mutual assistance in data privacy enforcement. NPC recognises this as a reaffirmation of both the Philippines' and Singapore’s recognition of the importance of data governance and cross-border data flows to global trade in a digital economy.
Notably, this is the first data protection-related MOU between Singapore PDPC and an ASEAN data protection authority.
On 4 September 2019, the Insurance Commission ("IC") issued Circular Letter 2019-45 ("CL 2019-45"), superseding Circular Letter 2014-31 which was issued by IC on 8 July 2014. CL 2019-45 allows insurance/reinsurance companies and mutual benefit associations to participate in securities borrowing and lending ("SBL") transactions as lenders, subject to certain requirements and guidelines which include limiting the borrowing period to a maximum of two years from the receipt of the SBL Confirmation Notice, providing a list of acceptable collaterals and prescribing methods on how to value the securities or collateral used. Any Master Securities Lending Agreement arising out of the SBL transaction also requires authorisation from IC and must be registered with the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
SBL enables short selling, whereby investors borrow shares, which they perceive to be overvalued, from the SBL to sell them, with an aim to buying them back at a lower price to replace the borrowed share. Short selling was first allowed in the Philippines by the Philippine Stock Exchange ("PSE") in 2018, and the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the PSE's Short-Selling Guidelines not long after. Prior to this, short selling was prohibited and penalised.
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") recently issued two Memorandum Circulars that introduce stricter requirements for financing companies and lending companies. Earlier this year, SEC sought public feedback on drafts of these Circulars concerning unfair debt collection practices, following numerous complaints against financing and lending companies and their third-party service providers, for allegedly harassing borrowers and employing abusive, unethical, and unfair means to collect debts.
Taking into account comments from the public, SEC issued on 20 August 2019 Memorandum Circular No. 18, series of 2019 ("MC 18-2019") which prohibits unfair collection practices by financing and lending companies. MC 18-2019 provides a list of unfair collection practices, prescribes penalties for violations, and requires strict confidentiality of a borrower's personal data.
In addition, SEC issued on 18 September 2019 Memorandum Circular No. 19, series of 2019 ("MC 19-2019") which prescribes the disclosure requirements for advertisements of financing and lending companies, and reporting of online lending platforms. In response to inquiries posed to SEC regarding the registration and legitimacy of financing and lending companies, SEC issued MC 19-2019 to provide for registration of business names of financing and lending companies. There are penalties for any violation of the Circular.
In August 2019, the Philippines submitted a letter of intent to be the ninth participating country in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross-Border Privacy Rules ("APEC CBPR") System, which is a voluntary certification mechanism that allows for the safe transfer of data by companies within the Member States’ economies. The APEC CBPR System reduces compliance costs for businesses by removing the need to comply with diverse domestic requirements. According to Privacy Commissioner Raymund E. Liboro, there is a three-month gestation period following the Philippines’ application to join the APEC CBPR System, and the Philippines hopes to become a member of the APEC CBPR this year.
The APEC CBPR System uses appropriately qualified Accountability Agents that have been recognised by participating economies to certify that participating organisations' privacy policies and practices comply with the APEC CBPR System requirements. Accountability Agents (public or private) are also responsible for ensuring that any non-compliance is remedied in a timely fashion and, in appropriate cases, reported to the relevant enforcement authorities.
At present, there are eight participating economies: USA, Mexico, Japan, Canada, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Australia and Chinese Taipei.
Pursuant to the Memorandum of Agreement signed between the Philippine Competition Commission ("PCC") and the Public-Private Partnership ("PPP") Center in July 2018, PCC issued Memorandum Circular No. 19-001 ("Circular") which details the procedure for securing a Certificate of Project Exemption ("CPE"). This effectively allows prospective bidders to meet the requirements of both the Philippine Competition Act and the Build-Operate-Transfer Law in a streamlined process. The Circular, which outlines the procedure for PCC's review of the PPP project and the grant of the CPE, provides for a streamlined process and enables PCC to establish the necessary competition safeguards early on, leading to less delays in the projects. The Circular took effect on 16 August 2019.
Previously, joint ventures formed by prospective bidders that met the thresholds under the Philippine Competition Act had to first obtain the approval of the PPP Center and, thereafter, notify and undergo full merger review by PCC.
Under the Circular, government agencies and instrumentalities may seek an exemption from the compulsory notification requirement on behalf of the prospective bidders in respect of a solicited project by filing an application for a CPE with PCC. However, PCC will still review the nature and scope of the project, the bidding design and process, and any competition concerns that may arise from the nature or composition of prospective bidders and the proponent of the project. While this review is ongoing, the relevant government agency or instrumentality and the PPP Center are required to continue processing the PPP project.