Manila, April 23 -- Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday renewed his call to regulate abusive practices of online lending companies, decrying the harassment and intimidation tactics borrowers continue to face.

"Some of these lenders make borrowing easy, but miss one payment and they resort to threats -- public shaming, (and) even sending bullets or funeral wreaths," Gatchalian said in a statement, citing multiple complaints received by his office.

The senator underscored the urgency of passing Senate Bill No. 818, or the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which seeks to ban harassment, intimidation, and other abusive behavior in collecting debt and prohibits threats of violence, profane language, and public disclosure of borrowers' ...