By Katherine K. Chan, ReporterTHE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) will enforce tight regulations against unfair debt collection practices of online lenders once it gains full oversight of the sector, an official said. BSP General Counsel Roberto L. Figueroa told BusinessWorld that the central bank will prioritize issuing regulations addressing predatory lending and abusive debt collection practices of online lending companies (OLCs). “Once we have fully transitioned into being the regulator of online lending companies — online lenders — that’s the first thing we’ll look into,” he said on the sidelines of a central bank event last month. According to Mr. Figueroa, the BSP’s technical working group for the matter has been reviewing all existing laws related to regulating lending companies’ debt collection practices. In April, SEC Commissioner Rogelio V. Quevedo said they submitted a position paper to the Congress proposing to transfer the oversight of online lenders to the BSP.