01/01/2026
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SUPREME COURT FINES LENDING APP FOR UNAUTHORIZED CONTACT ACCESS; CRIMINAL PROSECUTION RECOMMENDED
The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered a lending app operator to pay damages to a client for accessing her contact list and sending messages about her outstanding loan, actions that harmed her reputation
In a 16-page ruling penned by Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul Inting, the SC's Third Division reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) that set aside the National Privacy Commission (NPC)’s recommendation to charge FCash Global Lending Inc. with violation of the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and to pay damages to complainant Grace Trimillos.
Court records revealed that Trimillos filed the complaints alleging that the lending app accessed her phone’s contacts list without her authority and sent everyone on the list messages about her loan.
She added this tarnished her reputation, as her co-workers and friends were told they were guarantors and would be forced to pay on her behalf if she did not settle her loan.
Trimillos presented screenshots of the text messages allegedly sent by FCash as evidence. When mediation failed, NPC directed FCash to file a responsive comment, which received no response.
The NPC then resolved the issue and ruled that Trimillo’s right to privacy was violated after it found that FCash gathered personal information in excess of what was necessary and processed it for purposes other than those stated in their own privacy policy.
It held that the unauthorized processing of personal information was done with malice, as the messages reveal FCash’s “unquestionable intention to shame Trimillos and jeopardize her reputation” until she settled her obligations.
The NPC awarded P15,000 in nominal damages to Trimillos and recommended to the Department of Justice the filing of criminal cases against FCash for malicious disclosure and processing of sensitive personal information for unauthorized purposes.
However, when the case was brought to the CA, it abandoned the NPC ruling, noting that Trimillos failed to have the screenshots authenticated by any of her supposed witnesses, violating the Rules on Electronic Evidence. This paved the way for Trimillos to elevate the case before the Supreme Court.
In ruling in her favor and reinstating the NPC ruling, the high court found FCash failed to timely object to the admissibility of the screenshots used as evidence in the complaint against it before the NPC.
It explained that because FCash raised the issue for the first time on appeal, it could no longer be used as a ground to reverse the NPC’s decision. The issue was deemed waived when the lending app failed to file its response during the proceedings before the NPC.
“While there had been a ground to question its admissibility, it is clear that FCash failed to make a timely objection on the presentation and offer of the screenshots,” the Supreme Court said.
It also cited a previous ruling that inadmissible evidence may be admitted if not challenged at the proper time, and such an issue may not be raised for the first time on appeal.
The highest bench underscored that Trimillos submitted the screenshots to the NPC before the discovery conference. Despite its availability for examination, FCash did not object to these when given an opportunity to comment, including its objection to the inadmissibility of evidence.
“At the risk of being repetitive, grounds for objections not raised at the proper time shall be considered waived. Thus, even on appeal, the CA may not consider any other ground of objection except those that were raised at the proper time,” it added.
