Cebu City Councilor Noel Wenceslao is drafting a proposed ordinance requiring banks to assign security guards in automated teller machine (ATM) booths or kiosks, especially those located off-site or outside a bank’s premises.
Wenceslao said the presence of guards would help deter attempts to victimize ATM users.
While the police welcomed the measure, bankers are amenable to the proposal.
Supt. Romeo Santander, chief of the City Intelligence Branch (CIB) of the Cebu City Police Office, said law enforcers welcome the ordinance.
“(Having security guards is) a good force multiplier,” Santander told the City Council in a hearing yesterday where Wenceslao’s proposal was discussed.
Gino Gonzales, incoming president of the Cebu Bankers Club, however, said it may not be “financially sustainable” for banks.
Gonzales said they have been receiving reports of ATM fraud in Metro Cebu, but don’t have official data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
BSP assistant governor Johnny Noe Ravalo said the best weapon against ATM fraud is for consumers to be more vigilant.
Ravalo said there are existing regulations to deter ATM frauds like installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in ATM booths.