I'm Giancarlo Enrico S. Pozon, a Wushu instructor, investor and Barrister... That's right, Barrister; I graduated from law school and took the Bar Exams, now I'm waiting for the results. I created this blog to make Philippine Law easy to understand for the average person. It's all about free legal advice. There are many law blogs. But the problem is that many of them are written for lawyers and law students. They use words that can't be understood by ordinary people.
Many lawyers, judges and law students consider themselves as superior to most human beings because of their knowledge of the law. It bothers me since the law is supposed to serve society. Since the law is meant to serve society as a whole, it is important that is must be understood by everybody.
This does not mean that we should all become lawyers. It means that although law is a highly specialized profession, the first duty of everybody in this profession is to make the law understandable to all; that's why all these articles are free legal advice.
Like I said, this blog is about law -but it's for the ordinary people, not the lawyers. It's for the ordinary folk so they will know what is good and bad for them, and that making them aware of the law will help us all improve society as a whole. This is free legal advice for everybody!
This is a law that very often has cases in court: BP 22, the Bouncing Checks Law.
Issuing checks without anything in your bank account is punishable by a law that isn't part of the Revised Penal Code. It covers all kinds of checks and is in the original jurisdiction of the lower courts (MTC, etc.) These are the following things you have to remember about BP 22:
BP 22 can be committed in 2 ways:
1.) Issuing a check knowing that there is no money (or not enough money) in the account at the time the check is issued.
2.) Having the money but not maintaining enough money in the account to cover the check when it's brought to the bank within 90 days from its issuance (insufficient funds is a prima facie presumption of knowledge of a lack of funds.)
If the bank won't pay for a lack of funds in the account, the account holder has five (5) days to make good on the check to escape criminal liability. Sufficent funds must be within the account within 90 days from the date the check was presented to the bank. The penalty for violating BP 22 is 30 days to 1 year imprisonment and/or a fine of up to twice the value of the check (but not to exceed Php200,000.00.)
Note: after 180 days the check becomes stale. A stale check will not cause criminal liability if presented for encashment (the issuer of the check can't be sued.) BP 22 can also be subject to mediation.
Defenses Against BP 22
1.) The notice of dishonor wasn't given (remember the 5-day time limit?)
2.) The dishonor of the check wasn't due to insufficiency of funds.
3.) The check was presented for payment after 90 or 180 days from its maturity.
4.) A valid cause to stop payment (ex. right of an installment buyer under PD 957.)
40 comments:
Hi Giancarlo,
I issued PDC's to a Condominium developer (Megaworld Properties) for the pre-selling condo unit w/c will be turned over by 2013. I requested our December 11, 2010 check to be pulled out which our acct manager failed to do so (later on telling us that it was the treasury dept's fault). Anyway, I wasn't able to pay for the bank's penalty and the acct was closed. We have a good communication with our acct manager and she even apologized for the mistake she made of not pulling out the check. I was only able to replace the checks by February 18, and this was also the time they pulled out the PDC's of the closed acct, and was the only time they stopped depositing the checks. To make the story short...they deposited 3 checks total to a closed acct. Megaworld would not sue me for this, coz as I have mentioned, we have a good communication and this unit is just pre-selling. My question is...can I have the BP22 case even if the corporation I issued checks to doesn't sue me?
Dark Lips
Hello Mary,
No, you will not have a BP22 case. The courts will not entertain a case unless all the parties fail to make a settlement. Furthermore, your communication with Megaworld is good, so it is possible to make some agreements with them.
hi do still have the right to sue a person even if the bouncing checks was issued 2002?i know it took me so long to decide to go after her bec first i am not financially capable and second shes been promising over and over but never made a payment but i did gave her a 2 demand letters though pls enlighten me thanks
Hello Oelybag,
Yes, you still do. In the rules of prescription (prescription means time limit) prescription begins when you file your complaint. If you're not financially capable, you can approach the Public Attorney's Office, which is the court's branch for handling cases of people with no money. Sorry for the late reply.
Hi. A client of mine issued me a check that bounced. She still owes me a lot and has not issued any checks for it. Can I use the check that bounced even as a small amount as leverage to collect from her outstanding bill. Your help is greatly appreciated
hi good evening! i availed of a salary loan to chinatrust. the approved loan was released via the Chinatrust ATM. the the loan disbursement will be paid Via chinatrust manager's Check... i was able to pay half of the amount but due to financial constrain i was not able to pay for 2 mos. and in my surprise they demanded me to pay the whole amount ( principal amount + interest ). it came to the point that i was not able to pay for it anymore, an now the collection office is harrasing me and my family and i was advice that there is already a criminal case against me under the violation of BP22. is the chinatrust check considered as personnal check since the one i signed to there office upon release of the loan has no account name and i did not open it directly to their bank/branch?
https://openid.aol.com/opaque/d14517d0-d0e8-11e1-976e-000bcdcb8a73
Hello, sorry for the late reply. A manager's check is a check drawn against the bank's own account. Ergo, the check is theirs. I suspect that the check was issued as a guarantee deposit, which is a defense in BP22. Check out the last part of my post. Hope this helps.
Hi, I have a good history with my Philippine bank since I went abroad (2009) to present. Last vacation, early this year I applied for a loan but declined. The bank manager said I had a closed checking account in Manila way back 2005-2006, which is true. During those years, business was really bad, to cut the story short it was bankrupt, but managed to pay all my debts by working abroad. She also mentioned that there's a bp 22 case filed against me. Just by verbal info (without showing proof of document), she said it was issued by my sister-in-law (who's now living in Europe) to an unknown person/company.
If it's true, how, where and to whom should I be able to verify the details of this case? I am worried because it's been a long time, the court might think I'm aware of it but don't have the intention of paying.
I need your advise. Thank you very much.
I just want to ask for your advice in my case: My boss asked me if I know somebody who can lend her 1.5M. So I asked my friend's mom if she can lend my boss the said amount and she agreed with a 10% interest. They ask me for a promissory from my boss and make a statement that I certify and guarantee my boss (I state there that I certify and guarantee that my boss will pay the said amount). I was the one who encashed the money and without my boss knowing I added a 5% interest (nagcommission ako na di alam ng boss ko). We borrowed the money October last year. They were able to pay the interest until january this year. When february came di na sila makabayad kahit interest and since then the lender is asking them for the principal payment and the ineterest lowered to 5% (tinanggal ko narin yung interest na pinatong ko). My boss issued several checks that bounce due to insufficient fund and last month the check she last issued was close account. Now the lender is now filing a case against my boss, they asked me ti make a sworn affidavit on what happened including and that the interest was just 10% only. I refused to sign since that was my attorney's advice to me to not sign any documents now. But because I refused to make and sign any affidavit they said that they will include me in filing a case against me and my boss according to BP22 because according to them I'm a drawer/drawee... Can they really file a case against me? Should it be between the lender and borrower only? I really need your advice right now. I hope you'll have time to answer my concern. Thank you very much.
Please check very well your law and jurisprudence. Numbers 1, 6 and 7 are not valid defenses in bp 22 cases. They are immaterial as the offense is mala prohibitum. The law does not look into the terms of the issuance of the check. As for number 4, stale checks, if you try to deposit or encash them, will never be accepted by the bank anyway, hence, there will be no dishonor to speak of.
A criminal case for bp 22 has a prescriptive period of 4 years from the time the check was dishonored. Ergo, if the check was dishonored in 2002, do the math. More than 4 years have elapsed, thus, prescription has set in.
Hi, somebody owe me money and she gave me post dated cheque for the payments but before the cheques have deposited, she closed her account so the cheques went invalid. Can I use the BP 22 to file a formal complaint to her?
Hi. Last week i received an email from my bank that they will push through with the bp 22 case against me. I availed of a personal loan and i signed checks. However a few months after good payment i got pregnant and eventually i was not able to fund my checks. I had no salary during the span of my pregnancy leave and i am a single mom. I can't also work during that time due to threatened miscarriage and that my OB-gyn adviced me for a complete bed rest. I really had no other resources to fund my checks apart from my salary. As of now im undergoing a retraining and refresher course to qualify again to work in our company so i still have no capacity to pay for about 3 months. Please enlighten me. Im so depressed.
Hi. Last week i received an email from my bank that they will push through with the bp 22 case against me. I availed of a personal loan and i signed checks. However a few months after good payment i got pregnant and eventually i was not able to fund my checks. I had no salary during the span of my pregnancy leave and i am a single mom. I can't also work during that time due to threatened miscarriage and that my OB-gyn adviced me for a complete bed rest. I really had no other resources to fund my checks apart from my salary. As of now im undergoing a retraining and refresher course to qualify again to work in our company so i still have no capacity to pay for about 3 months. Please enlighten me. Im so depressed.
Hi, i have the same problem with chinatrust. They make us sign post dated checks. BP22 ba yun?
Miss Fajardo, kumusta na yung status mu?
Hi question, can a company reissue a check if it's already stale either managers check or not?
Hi. I have a personal loan sa chinatrust. I tried settling by stating na i will pay for 30k even if the debt blows up to 300k plus from 60k loan. Upon checking my previous payments more than na ako sa pinakanaloan ko. Pwede bang ganun nlng babayaran ko since sobra sobra n nabayaran ko based sa nahiram ko?
Hello mam sir, there is a person who borrowed money from us and issue a p.d.c. dated july 21 however he failed to fund the check. What should i do to make a demand for payment? Ty hope someone will answer.
Same issue here with China Trust. Hope you can share how you've settle your dues.
gd pm itanong ko lang pwede ko ba ipadala yong notice of dishonor sa taong nag issue ng tseke sa amin sa dating address niya kahit nagtatago at di na namin siya mareached.salamat po.
A friend issued a post dated checks. When deposited ive only learned that the account is closed. Can i sue my friend under BP22?
What happened to this po? Did the bank sue you?
Hi.i hope I can get legal advice from you. I'm a single mom who works for me and my son. I availed ctbc personal loan in sept2016.i was able to make good payments during the first year. Pero dhil s dmi ng financial obligations ko dumating s point n delayed ang payments ko until hndi ko n consistent n byran monthly ung dues. Nkkbayad po pero hndi on time. I got the money in the bank. May pinapirma Sila s akin ng bunches of BLANK Checks bago iabot ung monetary values. Kpag may Pera nkkpag byad nmn po ako pero hndi consistent. Mttpos npo ung loan ko this September 2019. I got my first demand letter January 2019 n pnpbyaran s akin ung updating balance of P14,978.91.. COME FEBRUARY 2019 NKPAGBYAD ako ng P7488. 46 kasi tumawag aKo s Palis Law Office to have good communication about my loan n gnitong amount lng ang kya ko. Then March 2019 nag stop ako s work and nghnap p Ng mlilipatan and as a single mom ma's kailngan Kong unahin ung daily pnggstos nmin s bahay to get by.
March, 2019 nktanggap ako ng 2nd DEMAND LETTER TO SETTLE OUTSTANDING OBLIGATION NA PUMALO NG P82,083.05. Galing npo u g 2ng demand letter s ibang firm which is THE LAW OFFICE OF ATTY. ROBERTO ULTADO JR.
Nakalgay po dun n "DESPITE AFTER CAREFUL EVALUATION OF RECORDS AND NUMEROUS REMINDERS AND SERVICES OF FORMAL DEMAND TO SETTLE OUTSTANDING OBLIGATIONS, your outstanding balance P82,083.05. AS SUCH, WE ARE INCLINED TO CONSIDER YOUR CONTINUING REFUSAL TO SETTLE THE MENTIONED OBLIGATIONS AS EVIDENT BAD FAITH PREJUDICIAL TO OUR CLIENT INTEREST.
WE HAVE INSTRUCTED OUR PERSONNEL TO CONDUCT THE NECESSARY INVESTIGATIONS PREPARATORY FOR FILING OF APPROPRIATE LEGAL ACTION.
PERSONAL VISIT MAYBE CONDUCTED FOR COMMUNICATION
makakasuhan po ba ako nito? Worried po kasi ako dhil wla po talaga akong extra pang money pra byran lhat in full. May chances po b n mkpag coordinate p ako kung saan mkpag usap ako n kung pwede kpag after 2mos kapg nkbwelo npo ako s byarin. I hope for your legal advice.
I have the same issue with chinatrust.. I hope an admin or moderator will give us an update since most of them posted that they had the same issues with ctbc. Thanks
I've been following this ctbc loan issue for some time now. Some had given advice but didnt post updates. Can anyone give a contact no.so we can help each other and settle this.
Nanghiram po ako ng 30,000 last December 2016. NAg issue po ako ng PDC checks para sa installement at 2 guarantee checks na walang amount. Bale po sinampahan ako ng BP22 for bounched checks. Nakapaghulog po ako sa kanya ng 10,120. Tapos po sa hering sabi ng judge at PAO lawyer bayran ko daw po ng 25,000 pra matapos na ang kaso. By Feb. 2019 may pinadala po sa akin ang korte na dismissed na po ung kaso ko. Ung kaso ko po na yan ang hinulog nya na check 3 yong isang guarantee check na nilagyang nya ng amount na 250,000 samantalang ang utang ko lang sa kanya e 30,000. Tapos po nakatanggap po ako ng sulat ngayong (May 24, 2019) na bayaran ko daw ang 250,000 within 5 days dahil closed account daw. E nung 2016 pa po closed account ang check ko. Bale ang ginawa po nya deneposit nya yong isang guarantee check na sya na ang naglagay ng date na April 30, 2019. Ano po ba ang maipapayo nyo sa akin. Salamat
Good day po. Meron po akong salary loan worth Php35,000 sa CTBC. Ang payment po is through checks. Wala po akong checking account so they had me signed their pre-issued checks for loan accounts na post-dated then huhulugan ko na lang po para sa monthly payments ko. Nakaisang taon na po ako nagbabayad pero ilang buwan na rin po akong delinquent dahil umalis po sa work pagkapanganak hanggang sa nagpadala na po ng notice ang law office at sila na po yung tumawag sa akin to collect payments. Nag-agree po kami to pay Php2,500 muna pero through phone call lang po and then this month po, they’re asking me to pay Php5,000 kaya lang sinabi ko po na hindi ko pa kaya yung Php5,000. Baka mas mababa pa po sa Php2,500 yung kaya kong mabayaran dahil wala nga po akong source of fund. Then sabi po nila na, kailangan ko raw po talagang bayaran is Php5,000 since naconsider na raw po yung previous payment ko of Php2,500. Makakasuhan at makukulong po ba ako? Ito po kasi ang sabi sa text:
“Due to refusal to clear up your account with CTBC Bank notwithstanding continuous and repeated demands to settle the amount of P5,000.00 we are constrained to proceed immediately with filling COURT CASE against you. We are going to proceed for the prosecution, We will be constrained to file civil and criminal cases against you to protect the interest of our client.”
Thank you so much po in advance.
Hi. I just want to know the ruling on stale check=180days. Is there any issuance from BSP or PCHC on this? Salamat.
Hi karencapunpon@gmail.com email me same case tau pero bayad na ako pero may pinapabayadan pa din cla gusto ko magreklamo at ipa investigate marami din kasi nagrereklamo sa law office na yan kinfdly email mo asap we will talk thanks
Hello. My husband and I used to have a small business, we have a supplier and we distribute animal feeds to various stores then they will be paying it after a week. However, bird flu happened. Our clients are affected and they are unable to pay, therefore we cannot pay our supplier. We had a meeting with them and they asked us to issue blank checks, no dates, no amount which will be encasher monthly. But again, the pandemic happened and we are unable to collect payments because of travel constraints and humanitarian considerations. Question, if the supplier places and amount on our cheque and encashes it and the account does bot have funding, can we still be sued?
What happened to your case mam? Have the same case way back 2018. Dami din pinadala letter from
Collection agency prev but hndi parin ako nakakapag bayad due to large amount that they want me to settle. Ano po nangyare sa case nyo?
Hi. Need your advise about chinatrust loan. i just recieved a call from a police officer in quezon sabi may warrant na daw ako. I got confused kasi I had no idea about saan. then pinatawag nya ako sa certain atty. then sinabi I had an account with chinatrust which i didnt deny . way back 2007 then ang dapat ko daw bayaran with penalties is at 800k from my loan na 36k. ano ba dapat ko gawin? can i contact the bank and pay the 36k?
I have the same issue with CTBC Bank. I took 1M loan around April last year (2022) and I have been paying religiously for a year until May 2023. Tapos nag start na ako mag default ng ilang buwan since May 2023 kasi nga may sakit sa puso ang anak ko tapos may cancer ang nanay ko. Sobra ako stress. Ngayon 4 na buwan na akong walang payment. Sinubukan ko silang kausapin na tanggalin yung mga unnecessary interest kasi sobra patong patong yung interest tapos i re construct yung loan kaso hindi naman sila mapakiusapan. Gusto nila magbayad daw muna ako ng 1 month pero grabe yung interest nun 1 month halos doble na dun sa monthly pament ko. Nasa CNCCSI Collections Agency na po yung account ko. Kanina nag email ulit sila na kakasuhan na raw ako ng criminal case under BP 22. Lumipat na kasi ako ng bagong tirahan at nagpalit ng number para mabawasan stress ko. Pero same pa rin po email ko at doon sila palagi nageemail pero hindi ako nagrereply. Saka doon pa rin naman ako nagwowork sa dati ko work. Kaso hindi ko na po alam gagawin ko. Baka meron akong pwedeng makausap na same ang issue at paano nyo po napag daanan. Baka pwede may mag message sa akin at magbigay ng tips kung paano kayo nakabayad sa kanila? May email po is aj.ho0810@gmail.com. Maraming salamat po.
Hi, I'm going through the same dilemma right now with CTBC. I've been late for three months now and the threats and home visits just keeps getting worst. They said that all three of my posted checks bounced and therefore they can now sue me in court for BP22 and estafa. They said they will come to my office. Did they did that with you? It's been nearly a year since your comment, I'm curious what happened with you and your loan
Did you get sued or did everything worked out in the end?
Hello po! Currently in the same situation po. I am trying to negotiate with CTBC and asking if they can hold my check payments until Q4 of this year to build funds to stabilize my financial situation and to resume my payments with my loan amortization. Kaya lang as per their policy they cannot accommodate the request. I am delayed for 3 months and 3 checques bounced. I received several messages through viber from the collection agency and sent a screenshot that they will file BP22 case.. I dont know what to do... any advise po please
Kamusta po ang case ninyo? Same situation po tayo. Any update po?
Hello po! Still the same po. 5 checks bounced and still receiving emails and messages that they will file BP 22 case against me. I am continuously buulding enough funds para makabayad na ng tuloy tuloy ulit... pero ayaw pa din po ng cnccsi. I stop replying to their messages din and nagfocus po muna ulit ako sa work koska sa pilit na pagiipon kasi nakaka anxiety din po talaga isipin araw araw kung pano gagawan ng paraan.
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