Excerpts:

They love our clean, green image but are baffled by our tax laws – a comprehensive survey of migrants has revealed for the first time what new Kiwis like and loathe about Aotearoa.

The survey, carried out by the Department of Labour and Statistics New Zealand, is the biggest of its kind, tracking 7000 people over their first three years here.

About one in four migrants had experienced at least one incident of discrimination.

Those from Asia and in the “other” category were most likely to have experienced it in a public place or work setting.

“I think the employers are giving priority to the people who have New zealand experience.

“The problem is if nobody’s willing to give me a job, how can I get New Zealand experience?”

Chandigarh: After Australia, there are now reports of racial attacks on Indians in New Zealand. A 23-year-old student from Ludhiana was reportedly attacked by a drunken youth this week.

Nitesh Khanna, a student of diploma in business studies at Auckland, was attacked when he was on his way to work. The youth tried to rob Nitesh of his car and even damaged it. Nitesh’s calls to the police for help went in vain.

Quote: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1260658

Two international students who face removal orders because they got pregnant while in New Zealand say they are being discriminated against and treated “unduly harshly”.

One plans to appeal to the Human Rights Commission.

Women who get pregnant while in New Zealand on temporary residency permits are being told they have to leave the country to have their babies because they would put pressure on already-stretched maternity services, the New Zealand Herald reported.

They are being told they cannot give birth here even if they are prepared to pay the full medical and maternity care costs.

Source: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=820239

Video Report

It was lunchtime in Newmarket and Johnny Zhang – who came to New Zealand from China five years ago – was getting groceries.

Just hours before heading to the markets he was abused for no reason as he waited at traffic lights.

“I didn’t even see who they were. Just suddenly they shouted at me and I even didn’t hear what they say, but it was quite loud and then they drove away,” explains Mr Zhang. “I just don’t get it.”

Phil Pam has also experienced discrimination. In his case, rubbish was thrown at him as he walked down the street.

“When you have those bad experiences, with bad people, you absolutely feel sad,” says fellow Chinese immigrant Mr Pam.

The latest race relations research confirms it is a sad trend according to 74 percent of respondents in a survey.

Asians were discriminated against. Sixty-eight percent said overweight people suffered discrimination while Pacific peoples and gays and lesbians were not far behind.

“What are the reasons? It’s difficult to say I think it’s a mixture of newness, ignorance and there is prejudice – there’s no doubt about that,” says Race Relations Commissioner Joris De Bres.

There is a surprise where people believe they encounter most discrimination: government departments top the list – ahead of public places, shops and employers. Read more.

Asian people are the most discriminated ethnic group in New Zealand, according to a national survey.

A UMR Research public opinion survey for the Human Rights Commission found 74 percent of respondents said Asians experience ‘a great deal’ or ‘some’ discrimination.

Men and children were the groups with the lowest level of perceived discrimination at 27 percent.

The figures are in the discrimination chapter of the Race Relations Report that race relations commissioner Joris de Bres released on February 20.

The full Race Relations Report will be published early next month.

It also records media reports of racially motivated crime in 2008, including a man sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for the racially motivated killing of Korean backpacker Jae Hyeon Kim.

Other stories include:

• A Filipino schoolgirl who was called a “bloody Asian” and had stones thrown at her by three teenage boys in Christchurch

• Two men who were arrested and charged with intimidation after racially abusing a group of Asian people at a New Plymouth playground

• A man who was sentenced to six months home detention and ordered to pay $350 reparation for racial abuse and assault on an Asian teenager in Napier

• A Nelson man who was sentenced to nine months in prison for abusing and threatening an Asian man at a service station and striking another Asian man with his car outside a supermarket.

Racial discrimination and harassment complaints to the Human Rights Commission were down last year, from 414 in 2007 to 407. Full story.

Failure to register Philippine-trained nurses is not only turning many into overstayers, it puts New Zealand at risk of political backlash, Philippine Ambassador Bienvenido Tejano warns.

Mr Tejano says about 50 “distressed” overstaying Filipinos, many of them nurses, have approached him directly in the last year after they ran out of money, and he believes many others are in the same plight.

“It is a problem, and it is growing by the day. They come in groups of five, 10 and 15, and as much as we want to help them, there is not much we can do,” Mr Tejano said.

Many nurses from the Philippines had sold everything to come here – because it was widely publicised that there was an acute shortage of nurses in New Zealand – only to discover their qualifications were not recognised and they could not get registered, he said.

“They have no money to go back, and nothing to go back for any more.”

The New Zealand Nursing Council has questioned the quality of nursing qualifications and training programmes in the Philippines after nursing student numbers there boomed from 30,000 in 2004 to 450,000 last year – but Mr Tejano said it was “unacceptable” for the council to be judging the quality just by looking at the numbers.

Full Article.

Asians are regarded as the group most likely to suffer discrimination in New Zealand, according to survey results.

In the poll conducted for the Human Rights Commission by UMR Survey, 74% of respondents said Asian people experienced “a great deal” or “some” discrimination.

Men and children were groups with the lowest level of perceived discrimination at 27%.

The figures are contained in the Race Relations Report’s discrimination chapter, which will be released to the national meeting of the Federation of Ethnic Councils in Auckland on Saturday.

The report, the full version of which will be published next month, also records media reports of racially motivated crime last year.

Among them was the jailing of Hayden Brent McKenzie, 31, for a life term for the killing of Korean backpacker Jae Hyeon Kim near Westport in 2003. Full Article.

The Nursing Council is concerned that the rapid increase in nursing programmes in the Philippines could be at the expense of the quality of nursing, and says it will raise the issue with Filipino authorities.

Chief executive Carolyn Reed says representatives of the council will travel to the Philippines to meet the nursing regulatory authority and educational providers because it needs to be satisfied that educational courses preparing nurses coming to New Zealand are meeting acceptable standards.

“We do have concerns about the effect that such rapid growth has on programme quality,” Ms Reed said.

“There has been an escalation of programmes offering nursing education in the Philippines.

“Some figures suggest that in 2004 there were 30,000 nurses in education programmes and this has risen to 450,000 last year.”

Many in the Philippines take a nursing degree as a second tertiary qualification because they think that with the global shortage of nurses, it could be their ticket to migration.

Read entire story here.

When you search for a medicine’s generic name it will give you all available brands of the drug.  The database will also give you the description, recommended dosage, contraindications, adverse drug reactions, drug interactions, mechanism of actions as well as the available variants and suggested retail prices.

Viewing videos on YouTube, other video sharing sites and news websited now take longer than a wired DSL connection.

Good thing I have not yet applied for this service. I guess it is still better to stick with PLDT myDSL for now.

This is his Speedtests:

compare this to last December 2, 2008:

Frustrated overseas-trained nurses want the Minister of Health to review the new nursing registration rules, which include an English language test.

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation has also questioned the tougher rules, saying they will lead to an outflow of nurses, putting public health and safety at risk. Read Complete Article Here.

400 foreign students kicked out of NZ over four years
By NZPA

More than 400 foreign students have sent packing in the past four years for crimes or indiscretions, costing the taxpayer around $750,000.

Nearly 300 of the students required police escorts back to their home countries after being assessed as security or safety risks, according to figures released to The Dominion Post under the Official Information Act. Read Complete Article Here.

Trained Filipino nurses are crying foul over the Nursing Council’s tightening of rules governing registering overseas-trained nurses.

They say the new requirements are prejudicial and unfair and are keeping them at unskilled jobs on the minimum wage when hospitals are facing an acute shortage of nurses.

In new requirements effective from Thursday, all overseas-qualified nurses – including those from Britain and other English-speaking countries – will face a tough English language assessment.

It will require they score 7.0 in each band of the IELTS (International English language testing system) test, higher than the current university entry requirement of 6.0.

But the biggest stumbling block for many Filipino nurses is a recent ruling by the council that nursing degree courses of less than four years will no longer be deemed eligible.

For most of the Philippines-trained nurses, nursing was their second course, and the length of time they took to complete it was reduced because they had exemption for certain subjects taken for a previous degree. View Complete Article Here.

This year, I hope and pray that this year will be better for me and the world.

Smart/TNT users forward sms for abroad to access number 378 and costs PhP2.50 charged to your Smart/TNT postpaid/prepaid account.  Sun and Globe users forward sms for abroad to access number 0922-7042198 and costs PhP1 charged to your Sun or Globe prepaid/postpaid account.

So far, this service works. I was able to send sms to friends abroad.  My phone number appears as the sender so they were able to identify me as the sender and was able to directly reply to my sms.

This is a good alternative to paying overpriced PhP9 to PhP15 international sms from Globe, Smart and Sun.

She gets better value from her Sun Cellular Plan 350 consumable plan.  The plan has 100 sms and the PhP350 can be used to call and/or text anyone.  For example, that PhP350 is worth 56 minutes worth of calls to other networks and local landline calls.  56 minutes is way better than 20 minutes offered by Globe.

Another reason, we quit Globe is because its signal/coverage in our area is very poor for both standard GSM and 3G.  The signal has remained poor over the years.  Our phones always got full signal bars on Sun Cellular and Smart.

Goodbye Globe, you have deteriorated from worse to worst!

These are the Speedtest results (note that I’ve used multiple test servers in various locations):

Last Sunday, I received a call from umobile.  I was advised that the umobile prepaid mobile service brand will be switched off.  In light of this, I shall be receiving a new sim under the Red Mobile brand.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9510

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A CREDIT INFORMATION SYSTEM AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SEC. 1. Title. – This Act shall be known as the“Credit Information System Act”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State recognizes the need to establish a comprehensive and centralized credit information system for the collection and dissemination of fair and accurate information relevant to, or arising from, credit and credit-related activities of all entities participating in the financial system. A credit information system will directly address the need for reliable credit information concerning the credit standing and track record of borrowers.

The operations and services of a credit information system can be expected to: greatly improve the overall availability of credit especially to micro, small and medium-scale enterprises; provide mechanisms to make credit more cost-effective; and reduce the excessive dependence on collateral to secure credit facilities.

The State shall endeavor to have credit information provided at the least cost to all participants and shall ensure the protection of consumer rights and
the existence of fair competition in the industry at all times.

An efficient credit information system will also enable financial institutions to reduce their over-all credit risk, contributing to a healthier and more stable financial system.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. – For purposes of this Act:

(a) “Accessing Entity” refers to any submitting entity or any other entity authorized by the Corporation to access basic credit data from the Corporation.

(b) “Basic Credit Data” refers to positive and negative information provided by a borrower to a submitting entity in connection with the application for and availment of a credit facility and any information on the borrower’s creditworthiness in the possession of the submitting entity and other factual and objective information related or relevant thereto in the submitting entity’s data files or that of other sources of information: Provided, That only information related to creditworthiness of borrowers will be collected, consolidated and disseminated: Provided, that in the absence of a written waiver duly accomplished by the borrower, basic credit data shall exclude confidential information on bank deposits and/or clients funds under Republic Act No. 1405 (Law on Secrecy of Bank Deposits), Republic Act No. 6426 (The Foreign Currency Deposit Act), Republic Act No. 8791 (The General Banking Law of 2000), Republic Act No. 9160 (Anti-Money Laundering Law) and their amendatory laws.

(c) “Borrower” refers to a natural or juridical person, including any local government unit (LGU), its subsidiaries and affiliates, that applies for and/or avails of a credit facility.

(d) “BSP” refers to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, created under Republic Act No.7653.

(e) “Corporation” refers to the Credit Information Corporation established under Section 5 of this Act.

(f) “Credit facility” refers to any loan, credit line, guarantee or any other form of financial accommodation from a submitting entity: Provided, That for purposes of this Act, deposits in banks shall not be considered a credit facility extended by the depositor in favor of the bank.

(g) “Credit Rating” refers to an opinion regarding the creditworthiness of a borrower or of an issuer of debt security, using an established and defined ranking system.

(h) “Credit Report” refers to a summary of consolidated and evaluated information on creditworthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character and general reputation of a borrower.

(i) “Government Lending Institutions” refers to existing and future government (GFIs), government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) primarilly engaged in lending activities.

(j) “Negative Credit Information” refers to information/data concerning the poor credit performance of borrowers such as, but not limited to, defaults on loans, adverse court judgments relating to debts and reports on bankruptcy, insolvency, petitions or orders on suspension of payments and corporate rehabilitation.

(k) “Non-Accessing Entity” refers to an entity other than a Submitting Entity, Special Accessing Entity or Borrower that is authorized by the Corporation to access credit information from a special accessing entity.

(l) “Outsource entity” refers to any accredited third party provider to whom the Corporation may outsource the processing and consolidation of basic credit data pertaining to a borrower or issuer of debt or convertible securities under such qualifications, criteria and strict confidentiality guidelines that the Corporation shall prescribe and duly publish.

(m) “Positive credit information” refers to information/data concerning the credit performance of a borrower such as, but not limited to, information on timely repayments or non-delinquency.

(n) “Relevant Government Agencies” refers to the Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Insurance Commission and the Cooperative Development Authority.

(o) “SEC” refers to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(p) “Special Accessing Entity” refers to a duly accredited private corporation engaged primarily in the business of providing credit reports, ratings and other similar credit information products and services.

(q) “Submitting Entity” refers to any entity that provides credit facilities such as, but not limited to, banks, quasi-banks, trust entities, investment houses, financing companies, cooperatives, nongovernmental micro-financing organizations, credit card companies, insurance companies and government lending institutions.

SEC. 4. Establishment of the Credit Information System. – In furtherance of the policy set forth in Section 2 of this Act, a credit information system is hereby established.

(a) Banks, quasi-banks, their subsidiaries and affiliates, life insurance companies, credit card companies and other entities that provide credit facilities are required to submit basic credit data and updates thereon on a regular basis to the Corporation.

(b) The Corporation may include other credit providers to be subject to compulsory participation: Provided, That all other entities qualified to be submitting entities may participate subject to their acceptance by the Corporation: Provided, further, That, in all cases, participation under the system shall be in accordance with such standards and rules that the SEC in coordination with the relevant government agencies my prescribe.

(c) Participating submitting entities are required to submit to the Corporation any negative and positive credit information that tends to update and/or correct the credit status of borrowers. The Corporation shall fix the time interval for such submission: Provided, That such interval shall not be less than fifteen (15) working days but not more than thirty (30) working days.

(d) The Corporation should regularly collect basic credit data of borrowers at least on a quarterly basis to correct/update the basic credit data of said borrowers.

(e) The Corporation may also access credit and other relevant information from government offices, judicial and administrative tribunals, prosecutorial agencies and other related offices, as well as pension plans administered by the government.

(f) Each submitting entity shall notify its borrowers of the former’s obligation to submit basic credit data to the Corporation and the disclosure thereof to the Corporation, subject to the provisions of this Act and its implementing rules and regulations.

(g) The Corporation is in turn authorized to release consolidated basic credit data on the borrower, subject to the provisions of Section 6 of this Act.

(h) The negative information on the borrower as contained in the credit history files of borrowers should stay in the database of the Corporation unless sooner corrected, for not more than three (3) years from and after the date when the negative credit information was rectified through payment or liquidation of the debt, or through settlement of debts through compromise agreements or court decisions that exculpate the borrower from liability. Negative information shall be corrected and updated within fifteen (15) days from the time of payment, liquidation or settlement of debts.

(i) Special accessing entities shall be accredited by the Corporation in accordance with such standards and rules as the SEC in coordination with the relevant government agencies, may prescribe.

(j) Special accessing entities shall be entitled access to the Corporation’s pool of consolidated basic credit data, subject to the provisions of Sections 6 and 7 of this Act and related implementing rules and regulations.

(k) Special accessing entities are prohibited from releasing basic credit data received from the Corporation or credit reports and credit ratings derived from the basic credit data received from the Corporation, to non-accessing entities unless the written consent or authorization has been obtained from the Borrower: Provided, however, That in case the borrower is a local government unit (LGU) or its subsidiary or affiliate, the special accessing entity may release credit information on the LGU, its subsidiary or affiliate upon written request and payment of reasonable fees by a constituent of the concerned LGU.

(l) Outsource Entities, which may process and consolidate basic credit data, are absolutely prohibited from releasing such data received from the Corporation other than to the Corporation itself.

(m) Accessing Entities shall hold strictly confidential any credit information they receive from the Corporation.

(n) The borrower has the right to know the causes of refusal of the application for credit facilities or services from a financial institution that uses basic credit data as basis or ground for such a refusal.

(o) The borrower, for a reasonable fee, shall have, as a matter of right, ready and immediate access to the credit information pertinent to the borrower. In case of erroneous, incomplete or misleading credit information, the subject borrower shall have the right to dispute the erroneous, incomplete, outdated or misleading credit information before the Corporation. The Corporation shall investigate and verify the disputed information within five (5) working days from receipt of the complaint. If its accuracy cannot be verified and cannot be proven, the disputed information shall be deleted. The borrower and the accessing entities and special accessing entities who have received such information shall be informed of the corresponding correction or removal within five (5) days. The Corporation should use a simplified dispute resolution process to fast track the settlement/resolution of disputed credit information. Denial of these borrowers’ rights, without justifiable reason, shall entitle the borrower to indemnity.

SEC. 5. Establishment of the Central Credit Information Corporation. – There is hereby created a Corporation which shall be known as the Credit Information Corporation, whose primary purpose shall be to receive and consolidate basic credit data, to act as a central registry or central repository of credit information, and to provide access to reliable, standardized information on credit history and financial condition of borrowers.

(a) The Corporation is hereby authorized to adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal which shall be judicially noticed; to enter into contracts; to incur liabilities; to lease or own real or personal property, and to sell or otherwise dispose of the same; to sue and be sued; to compromise, condone or release any liability and otherwise to do and perform any and all things that may be necessary or proper to carry out the purposes of this Act.

(b) The authorized capital stock of the Corporation shall be Five hundred million pesos (P500,000,000.00) which shall be divided into common and preferred shares which shall be non-voting. The National Government shall own and hold sixty percent (60%) of the common shares while the balance of forty percent (40%) shall be owned by and held by qualified investors which shall be limited to industry associations of banks, quasi-banks and other credit related associations including associations of consumers. The amount of Seventy-five million pesos (PhP75,000,000.00) shall be appropriated in the General Appropriations Act for the subscription of common shares by the National Government to represent its sixty percent (60%) equity share and the amount of Fifty million pesos (PhP50,000,000.00) shall be subscribed and paid up by such qualified investors in accordance with Section 5(d) hereof.

(c) The National Government may subscribe or purchase capital notes that may be issued by the Corporation as a supplement to capital.

(d) Equal equity participation in the Corporation shall be offered and held by qualified private sector investors but in no case shall each of the qualified investor represented by an association of banks, quasi-banks and other credit-related associations including the associations of consumers have more than ten percent (10%) each of the total common shares issued by the Corporation.

(e) The SEC in coordination with relevant government agencies, shall prescribe additional requirements for the establishment of the Corporation, such as industry representation, capital structure, number of independent directors, and the process for nominating directors, and such other requirements to ensure consumer protection and free, fair and healthy competition in the industry.

(f) The Chairman of the SEC shall be the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation. Whenever the Chairman of the SEC is unable to attend a meeting of the Board, he/she shall designate an associate Commissioner of the SEC to act as his/her alternate.

The powers and functions of the Corporation shall be exercised by a board of directors composed of fifteen (15) members. The directors representing the government shares shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines.

(g) The directors and principal officers of the Corporation, shall be qualified by the “fit and proper” rule for bank directors and officers. To maintain the quality of management of the Corporation and afford better protection to the system and the public in general,
the SEC in coordination with the relevant government agencies, shall prescribe, pass upon and review the qualifications and disqualifications of individuals elected or appointed directors of the Corporation and disqualify those found unfit. After due notice to the board of directors of the Corporation, the SEC may disqualify, suspend or remove any director who commits or omits an act which render him unfit for the position. In determining whether an individual is fit and proper to hold the position of a director of the Corporation, due regard shall be given to his integrity, experience, education, training and competence.

The members of the Board of Directors must be Filipino citizens and at least thirty (30) years of age. In addition, they shall be persons of good moral character, of unquestionable integrity, of known probity, and have attained competence in the fields of law, finance, economics, computer science or information technology. In addition to the disqualifications imposed by the Corporation Code, as amended, no person shall be nominated by the national government if he has been connected directly with a banking or financial institution as a director or officer, or has substantial interest therein within three (3) years prior to his appointment.

(h) The Board of Directors may appoint such officers and employees as are not otherwise provided for in this Act, define their duties, fix their compensations and impose disciplinary sanctions upon such officers and employees, for cause. The salaries and other compensation of the officers and employees of the Corporation shall be exempt from the Salary Standardization Law. Appointments in the Corporation, except to those which are policy-determining, primarily confidential or highly technical in nature, shall be made only according to the Civil Service Law.

(i) The Corporation shall acquire and use state-of-the-art technology and facilities in its operations to ensure its continuing competence and capability to provide updated negative and positive credit information; to enable the Corporation to relay credit information electronically as well as in writing to those authorized to have access to the credit information system; and to insure accuracy of collected, stored and disseminated credit information. The Corporation shall implement a borrower’s identification system for the purpose of consolidating credit information.

(j) The provisions of any general or special law to the contrary notwithstanding, the importation by the Corporation of all equipment, hardware or software, as well as all other equipment needed for its operations shall be fully exempt from all customs duties and from all other taxes, assessments and charges related to such importation.

(k) The Corporation shall have its principal place of business in Metro Manila, but may maintain branches in such other places as the proper conduct of its business may require.

(l) Any and all acquisition of goods and services by the Corporation shall be subject to Procurement Laws.

(m) The national government shall continue to hold sixty percent (60%) of the common shares for a period not to exceed five (5) years from the date of commencement of operations of the Corporation. After the said period, the national government shall dispose of at least twenty percent (20%) of its stockholdings in the Corporation to qualified investors which shall be limited to industry associations of banks, quasi-banks and other credit-related associations, including associations of consumers. The national government shall offer equal equity participation in the Corporation to all qualified investors. When the ownership of the majority of the common voting shares of the Corporation passes to private investors, the stockholders shall cause the adoption and registration with the SEC of the amended articles of incorporation within three (3) months from such transfer of ownership.

SEC. 6. Confidentiality of Credit Information. – The Corporation, the submitting entities, the accessing entities, the special accessing entities, the outsource entities and the duly authorized non-accessing entities shall hold the credit information under strict confidentiality and shall use the same only for the declared purpose. Outsource entities which may process and consolidate basic credit data are absolutely prohibited from releasing such data received from the Corporation other than to the Corporation.

The accreditation of an accessing entity, a special entity and/or an outsource entity which violates the confidentiality of, or which misuses the credit information accessed from the Corporation, may be suspended or revoked. Any entity which violates this section may be barred access to the credit information system and penalized pursuant to Section 11 of this Act.

The Corporation shall be authorized to release and disclose consolidated basic credit data only to the accessing entities, the special accessing entities, the outsource entities and borrowers. Consolidated basic credit data released to accessing entities shall be limited to those pertaining to existing borrowers or borrowers with pending credit applications. Credit information shall not be released to entities other than those enumerated under this section except upon order of the court.

SEC. 7. Educational Campaign. – A continuing nationwide educational campaign shall be developed and undertaken by the Corporation to promote the benefits of a credit information system to the economy; to create awareness on the rights of consumers/borrowers to access their credit reports collected, stored and disseminated by the Corporation; to disseminate the rights of the borrowers to dispute any incorrect/inaccurate credit information in the database file of the Corporation; to familiarize consumers of the procedure in collecting, storing and disseminating credit information of borrowers by the Corporation; and to brief consumers of other related information.

SEC. 8. Rules and Regulations. – For purposes of creating a healthy balance between the need for reliable credit information and safeguarding consumer protection, ensuring free and healthy competition in the industry, the SEC, in coordination with relevant government agencies and existing industry stakeholders, shall issue the implementing rules and regulations (IRRs), which shall be reviewed, revised and approved by the Oversight Committee to ensure consistency and compliance with the provisions of this Act, embodying among others:

(a) The basic credit data shall be limited or confined in form and content to an objective and factual information and shall exclude any subjective information or opinion;

(b) Restrictions on the use and transfer of credit information;

(c) Rights of the borrowers to access their respective credit information and to dispute the factual accuracy of such credit information;

(d) Requirements and standards for the establishment of the Corporation including, but not limited to, ownership, industry representation, independent directors and process of nomination of directors;

(e) Accreditation standards for submitting entities, special accessing entities and non-accessing entities;

(f) Sanctions to be imposed by the Corporation on:

(i) The submitting entities for non-submission of reports and for delayed and/or erroneous reporting;

(ii) Accessing entities, special accessing entities, outsource entities and duly authorized non-accessing entities, for breaches of the confidentiality of and/or the misuse of the credit information obtained from the credit information system; and

(iii) Violations of the applicable rules and regulations: Provided, That these administrative sanctions shall be in the form of fines in amounts as may be determined by the Corporation but in no case to exceed Thirty thousand pesos (PhP30,000.00) a day for each violation, taking into consideration the attendant circumstances, such as the nature and gravity of the violation or irregularity. Imposition of administrative sanctions shall be without prejudice to any criminal and other sanctions as may be applicable under this Act and relevant laws;

(g) Suspension or cancellation of the rights of any Accessing Entity or Special Accessing Entity to access Credit Information from the Corporation; Provided, That the SEC in coordination with relevant government agencies and existing industry stakeholders, may issue subsequent regulations consistent with the IRR as approved by the Congressional Oversight Committee.

In addition, the SEC may regulate access to the credit information system as well as the fees that shall be collected by the Corporation from the accessing entity and special accessing entity, taking into consideration the policy of lowering the cost of credit, promoting fair competition, and the need of the Corporation to employ state-of-the-art technology; and

(h) The basic credit data about a borrower shall be limited to credit information existing on the date of the enactment of this Act and thereafter.

SEC. 9. Congressional Oversight Committee. – There is hereby created a congressional oversight committee, composed of seven (7) members from the Senate and seven (7) members from the House of Representatives. The Members from the Senate shall be appointed by the Senate President with at least three (3) Senators representing the minority. The Members of the House of Representatives shall be appointed by the Speaker with at least three (3) members representing the minority. After the Oversight Committee approved the implementing rules and regulations, it shall thereafter become functus officio, and therefore cease to exist: Provided, That the Congress may revive the Congressional Oversight Committee in case of a need for any major revision/s in the implementing rules and regulations.

SEC. 10. Indemnity in Favor of the Corporation, its Officers and Employees. – Unless the Corporation or any of its officers and employees is found liable for any willful violation of this Act, bad faith, malice and/or gross negligence, the Submitting Entities, Accessing Entities, Special Accessing Entities and duly authorized non-accessing entities shall hold the Corporation, its directors, officers and employees free and harmless to the fullest extent permitted by law and shall indemnify them from any and all liabilities, losses, claims, demands, damages, deficiencies, costs and expenses of whatsoever kind and nature that may arise in connection with the performance of their functions without prejudice to any criminal liability under existing laws.

Sec. 11. Penalties. – Any person who violates for the first time any of the provisions of this Act or the rules and regulations promulgated by the Corporation under authority thereof shall, upon conviction, suffer a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (PhP50,000.00). For succeeding violations, the penalty shall not be more than One million pesos (PhP1,000,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years, or both, at the discretion of the court.

Sec 12. Inviolable Nature of the Secrecy of Bank Deposits and/or Client Funds. –Pursuant to Republic Act No. 1405 (Law on Secrecy of Bank Deposits), Republic Act No. 6426 (The Foreign Currency Deposit Act), Republic Act No. 8791 (The General Banking Law of 2000), Republic Act No. 9160 (Anti-Money Laundering Law) and their amendatory laws, nothing in this Act shall impair the secrecy of bank deposits and investments in government securities funds.

Sec. 13. Annual Report. – The SEC shall submit an annual report to Congress on the status of the implementation of this Act.

Sec. 14. Principal Government Agency – The SEC shall be the lead government agency to implement and enforce this Act. As lead agency, the SEC shall consult and coordinate with other relevant government agencies in the adoption of all rules and regulations for the full and effective implementation and enforecement of this Act, taking into account the policy objectives contained in Section 2 hereof.

Sec. 15. Separability Clause. – Should any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance be held invalid, the other provisions or sections of this Act shall not be affected thereby.

Sec. 16. Repealing Clause. – This Act repeals Presidential Decree No. 1941 in its entirety. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Sec. 17. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved:

PROSPERO C. NOGRALES
Speaker of the House of Representatives

MANNY VILLAR
President of the Senate

This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 1881 and House Bill No. 4260 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of
Representatives on September 1, 2008.

MARILYN B. BARUA-YAP
Secretary General
House of Representatives

EMMA LIRIO-REYES
Secretary of the Senate

Approved: October 31, 2008

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the Philippines

Now we are just years before a woman becomes the leader of the free world!

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