MANILA -- The digital advocacy group Digital Pinoys on Sunday called for the e-wallet platform GCash to be held accountable for unauthorized transactions that led to financial losses for its users.

Digital Pinoys national campaigner Ronaldo Gustilo said that the issue has been ongoing for a considerable time, and despite previous complaints, it remains unresolved. 

“Napakarami nang reklamo patungkol dito sa mga unauthorized transactions and nakakalungkot na naulit na naman ‘yung ganitong kalaking insidente,” Gustolo said. 

“Ang panawagan namin, syempre dapat agarang isauli ang lahat ng mga nawalang pera dahil sa wave ng unauthorized transactions,” he added. 

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GCash user Nica Coching reported losing nearly P40,000 of her hard-earned money from her account, but her funds are still not fully refunded. 

“Hindi naman ako nagbibigay ng MPIN, hindi rin po ako nagbibigay ng OTP sa iba. Tapos very careful po ako, pag may mga link akong nare-receive, hindi ko siya kini-click,” Coching said. 

“Meron pa pong kulang na P4,000 pero thankful na rin po na kahit papano naibalik ‘yung malaking halaga kasi hindi naman po ‘yun madaling kitain,” she added. 

Patricia Alabado also noticed a recurring pattern in the unauthorized cashouts, with P2,000 being lost in each transaction. 

“Maybe it’s an inside job. Pero naglabas naman sila ng notice siguro for damage control,” Alabado said. 

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“For now, for peace of mind, hindi na muna ako gagamit ng GCash kasi it caused us too much stress lalo na ‘yung kelangan mo ‘yung pera that time tapos mawawala,” she added. 

GCash issued a statement on Saturday confirming they are addressing the issue of the isolated incident. 

However, Gustilo emphasized the need for a government investigation into the matter. 

“Hindi uubra na sila lang din ‘yung mag-imbestiga dun sa nangyaring insidente dahil hindi ito ‘yung una. Nakakaalarma ito kaya dapat meron ding mga kaukulang parusa sa GCash,” he said. 

“Hindi natin alam baka nagkaroon talaga ng breach, o insidente ng hacking so kelangan ito ay idaan sa malalomang imbestigasyon na impartial,” he added. 

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said that it is coordinating with GCash and will be conducting a separate investigation. 

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But, Undersecretary for Infostructure Management, Cybersecurity, and Upskilling Jeffrey Ian Dy reiterated that GCash's participation remains voluntary, as there is no law granting mandatory powers related to cybersecurity. 

“If this is a cybersecurity incident, our job is to make sure that this will not scale over. If they need help, we are more than willing to help them,” Dy said. 

“GCash should be clarified as a critical information structure due to their scopex saka maraming Pilipino ang gumagamit nyan. It’s a very voluntary process. Wala kaming mandatory powers to compel them,” he added. 

Meanwhile, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) appealed to the public to report scams and all forms of cybercrimes to the Inter-Agency Response Center (IARC) hotline 1326 instead of ranting on social media. 

“We may be able to assist them if they call 1326 so they can be assisted in the investigation instead of posting their loses in social media,” CICC Executive Director Alexander Ramos said. 

“Your social media platforms will not in anyway assist you nor resolve your loses in your e-wallets,” he added. 

CICC coordinated with GCash to understand what transpired and worked closely with the National Telecommunication Commission to determine how victims could be assisted.

READ: Report scams to 1326 hotline instead of ‘ranting on social media’ -- CICC