Terms and Conditions

Effective as of 06 March 2023

These Terms and Conditions of Use (“Terms and Conditions”) are provided by Bukas Finance Corp. (the “Company”). By using, accessing or browsing http://bukas.ph on the website, or other related digital medium or media (each and collectively the “Site”), regardless of you whether have registered to use any of the products or services offered on the Site (“Services”), you signify that you have read and understood these Terms and Conditions and agree to be bound by the same. If you do not agree, do not fully understand or have reservations with respect to any provision of these Terms and Conditions, please exit this Site.

ELIGIBILITY

• For Students: Non-Filipino citizens, and persons under the age of 18 are not permitted to access or use our Services unless their parent has consented in accordance with applicable law. Additionally, you cannot access or use our Services if you are barred from receiving services under applicable law or have previously been suspended or removed from our Services.
• For partner schools and institutions: A corporation, branch office, or partnership registered and in good standing with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has a permanent place of business in the Philippines, and is duly represented by its designated account holder duly authorized to contract or fund loans on its behalf.

You likewise expressly authorize the Company to use all necessary means to verify your identity (including sharing information, personal and non-personal, you have provided) with any partner school or institution, third party service provider and/or data controller.

RESTRICTIONS ON USE

You agree to abide by all applicable terms and conditions, law and regulations in your use of the Site and our Services. In addition, you agree that you will not do any of the following:

• register for more than one account, or register for an account on behalf of an individual other than yourself or on behalf of any group or entity;
• post or otherwise make available content, or take any action on the Site, that may constitute libel or slander or that infringes or violates someone else’s rights or is protected by any copyright or trademark, or otherwise violates the law;
• post or otherwise make available content that in the Company’s judgment is objectionable, such as content that is harmful, threatening, inflammatory, obscene, fraudulent, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, hateful, or otherwise objectionable, or which restricts or inhibits any other person from using or enjoying the Site, or which may expose the Company or users of the Site to any harm or liability of any type;
• post or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, solicitations, promotional materials, or any other form of solicitation;
• use the information or content on the Site to send unwanted messages to any other user;
• impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent yourself, your age or your affiliation with any person or entity;
• post or otherwise make publicly available on the Site any personal or financial information of any third party;
• solicit passwords or personally identify information for commercial or unlawful purposes;
• use the Site or our products and services in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the Site;
• harvest or collect email addresses or other contact information of other users from the Site by electronic or other means, including the use of automated scripts; or
• post or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment.

REGISTRATION AND APPLICATION

In creating your account, you agree to provide the true, current, complete and accurate information in the registration or application form which is necessary for purposes of availing of our Services. If any information you provide is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, we reserve the right to cancel your registration, reject or cancel any application you have submitted, and restrict your future use of this Site and our Services. The Company also reserves the right to reject any registration, deny access to the Site and/or decline any loan application in violation of these Terms and Conditions.

You agree that Bukas may, at it's sole discretion, use digital signatures to sign any documents, or any other electronic means to confirm consent and valid acceptance of your of your application and our Services. Your application for our Services will not be denied enforceability merely because they are concluded electronically.

COLLECTION AND USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

It is important for you to know that the Services can only be provided if you agree to disclose relevant educational, employment, financial, and transactional information (“Personal Information”) which may verified by the Company, on your behalf, from all relevant sources (including, but not limited to, schools or partner institutions) in your behalf and pursuant with your instruction and authorization.

AUTHORIZATION / SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY

By clicking “Submit for Review” for your loan application, you hereby confirm that you authorize and designate the Company, as your authorized representative and attorney-in-fact to, when necessary, request, obtain, receive and retain all personal information retained and kept by the third parties, for the purpose of verifying the Personal Information you have provided on the Site and providing you with the appropriate services. “Third Parties” shall include, but is not limited to, our partner schools and institutions.

PLEASE READ AND CONFIRM THAT YOU AGREE TO THE AUTHORIZATION AND SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE OR HAVE RESERVATIONS WITH RESPECT TO ANY PROVISION OF THE AUTHORIZATION AND SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY, AS TO ITS SCOPE, COVERAGE OR PURPOSE, PLEASE EXIT THIS SITE.

PRIVACY

The Personal Information may be disclosed to the following when necessary for the conduct of the Company’s business, and only on a need-to-know basis: (a) its partner schools and institutions; (b)the Company’s affiliates and related companies, (c) third party vendors, providers and partners who support our business, (d) the government, regulatory agencies, and fraud prevention agencies for the purposes of identifying, preventing, detecting or tackling fraud, money laundering, or other crimes, and for other lawful purposes; and (e) other entities as may be required by law or as public interest may warrant.

In the event that you wish to withhold your consent to any such processing or sharing, such request shall be deemed as a request for the deletion of your account and the consequent termination of your transactions in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreements you accepted and executed.

The Company may use your Personal Information or other internet usage data as the Company may require in connection with the conduct of the Company’s business.

The Company shall retain your Personal Information for the duration of your registration with the Site and for so long as you have current activities and transactions in connection with the products and services you have availed of in the Site; for the establishment, exercise or defense of a legal claim; for legitimate business purposes; or in instances required by law. Your Personal Information shall then be disposed in a secure manner that would prevent further processing, unauthorized access, or disclosure to any other party or the public, or prejudice your interest.

For more information on the collection, storage and use of your Personal Information, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE ABOVE AND AGREE AND CONSENT TO THE COLLECTION, USE, STORAGE, PROCESSING, DISCLOSURE, AND SHARING OF THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE PROVIDED OR COLLECTED, TO THE COMPANY’S AFFILIATES, PARTNER SCHOOLS AND INSTITUTIONS, AND THIRD PARTIES SUCH AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, CREDIT BUREAUS/ ORGANIZATION, THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS, WHICH YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND CONFIRM IS NECESSARY AND REQUIRED FOR THE EFFECTIVE USE AND ACCESS OF THE SITE AND ITS SERVICES.

USER CONTENT

By submitting content to the Site, you expressly agree to the following:

• You retain all ownership rights to the content you have uploaded on the Site.
• You are solely responsible for the content and information you make available through or in connection with our Site or Services. The Company will not be liable for any use or misuse of your personal data by others.
• All the information and content posted on the Site or privately transmitted through the Site or via other means in connection with the Site’s services is the sole responsibility of the person from whom that content originated. The Company will not be responsible for any errors in or omission of any information or content posted by a user.
• The Company may access and use the information for purposes of assessing lending risks and identifying, preventing, detecting or tackling fraud, money laundering and other crimes.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACCOUNT

You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your username, password, account and any other login or authentication and validation information you created or provided to the Site (“Unique User Credentials”). By creating and maintaining your account, you agree to honor all activities performed and obligations contracted using your account.

You agree and confirm that any use of your Unique User Credentials shall at all times be presumed to be access by you and, if by a third party, with your consent and authority. Any and all activities or transactions using your Unique User Credentials shall be valid and binding transactions created, committed and performed by you.

If there is an unauthorized use of your account or a breach of its security, you hereby undertake to notify the Company of the relevant circumstances thereof immediately.

LIABILITY FOR ACCOUNT MISUSE

The Company will not be liable for any loss that you may incur as a result of someone else using any of your account or Unique User Credentials, either with or without your knowledge. You could be held liable for losses incurred by the Company due to a third party using your account or Unique User Credentials.

ACCOUNT SECURITY

While the Company has implemented adequate safeguards as required under the Data Privacy Act of 2012, the Company does not give any guarantee or warranty with respect to the same. You hereby acknowledge that you provide your Personal Information at your own risk.

NO WARRANTY; ERRORS

The products and services on the Site are provided “as is” and without any representation or warranty. To the fullest extent permissible under applicable laws, the Company disclaims all such warranties, express or implied, including, but not limited to, non-infringement, accuracy, freedom from errors, suitability of content, availability, payment or realization of transactions.

The Company does not warrant the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of the information provided on the Site and expressly disclaims liability for any errors or omissions in such information. The Company does not guarantee and promise any specific results from use of the Site and its Services.

The Company shall not be responsible for what users post on the Site or any offensive, inappropriate, obscene, unlawful or otherwise objectionable content uploaded by other users on the Site. The Company is not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any user of the Site or its products or services.

CONTRACTS AND AUTHORIZATIONS

Your use and availment of the Services on the Site may be conditioned on your agreement to certain contracts and authorizations. By signifying your consent and permissions therein, you and agree to be bound terms and conditions thereof and such contracts and authorizations shall be deemed validly and voluntarily executed by you. Upon request, the Company may furnish you electronic copies of such documents.

TERMINATION

The Company may terminate or suspend your access to or ability to use the Site immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason or no reason, including breach of these Terms and Conditions.

Termination of your access to and use of the Site shall not relieve you of any obligations arising or accruing prior to termination or limit any liability that you otherwise may have to the Company or any third party.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall the Company, its directors, officers, representatives, agents, or assigns be liable for any direct, special, indirect or consequential damages, or any other damages of any kind, including but not limited to loss of use, loss of profits or loss of data, whether in an action in contract, tort (including but not limited to negligence) or otherwise, arising out of or in any way connected with the use of or inability to use the Site, including, without limitation, any damages caused by or resulting from reliance by user on any information obtained from the Site, or that result from mistakes, omissions, interruptions, deletion of files or email, errors, defects, viruses, delays in operation or transmission or any failure of performance. You expressly agree that your use of the Site is at your sole risk.

The Company, its directors, officers, representatives, agents, or assigns, shall not be liable to you for loss or damage of any kind which you may suffer as a result of being a member of the Site, except where such loss or damage arises from our breach of these Terms and Conditions or was caused by gross negligence, willful default or fraud by the Company or employees. The Company shall also not be responsible for any breach of these Terms and Conditions arising from circumstances outside our reasonable control.

LIABILITY FOR BREACH

You shall be liable for any loss or damage suffered by the Company and/or its users as a result of:

• your breach of these Terms and Conditions or any agreement you have entered into pursuant to the Site’s services;
• your fraudulent use of the Site; and
• your provision of inaccurate, false or fraudulent data.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

The design, trademarks, service marks, and logos of the Site (“Marks”), are owned by or licensed to the Company, subject to copyright and other intellectual property rights under the laws of the Philippines. You may not use, copy, or distribute of any of the Marks found on the Site unless otherwise expressly permitted.

MODIFICATION OF TERMS

The Company reserves the right to make changes to these Terms and Conditions (“Updated Terms”) at any time. Unless the changes in the Terms and Conditions are for legal or administrative reasons, the Company will provide reasonable advance notice before the Updated Terms become effective by posting the Updated Terms on the Site.

Your use of the Site after the effective date of the Updated Terms constitutes your agreement to the Updated Terms. You should review these Terms and Conditions and any Updated Terms before using the Site.

MISCELLANEOUS

• In the event that any provision of these Terms and Conditions deemed by any competent authority to be unenforceable or invalid, the relevant provision shall be modified to allow it to be enforced in line with the intention of the original text to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. The validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions of these Terms and Conditions shall not be affected.
• You agree that all documents or notices may be delivered to you electronically, through your e-mail address provided upon registration. Accordingly, you recognize and acknowledge that it is your sole responsibility to update the Company with your current e-mail address and the Company shall not be liable for any claim of loss or damage for failure to receive notices.
• Subject to applicable law, all disclaimers, indemnities and exclusions in these Terms and Conditions shall survive termination of this agreement.
• No single or partial exercise, or failure or delay in exercising any right, power or remedy by us shall constitute a waiver by us of, or impair or preclude any further exercise of, that or any right, power or remedy arising under these terms and conditions or otherwise.
• Unless expressly agreed in writing otherwise, these Terms and Conditions set out the entire agreement between you and us with respect to your use of the Site and supersedes any and all representations, communications and prior agreements (written or oral) made by you or us.
• These Terms and Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with Philippine law. All matters, claims or disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions, shall first be settled by parties in good faith and all efforts shall be exerted to settle the dispute or difference amicably. In the event that the parties are unable to settle the dispute or difference, any legal proceeding which may arise shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the City of Makati, to the exclusion of all other courts.

ACCEPTANCE

YOU CONFIRM HAVING READ AND UNDERSTOOD AND AGREE TO THE FOREGOING TERMS AND CONDITIONS. BY ACCEPTING THIS TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND THE PRIVACY POLICY YOU SIGNIFY YOUR EXPRESS CONSENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10173, OTHERWISE REFERRED TO AS THE DATA PRIVACY ACT OF 2012 AND ITS IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS AS WELL AS OTHER APPLICABLE CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PRIVACY LAWS OF THE PHILIPPINES. YOU AGREE TO HOLD THE COMPANY, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS, FREE AND HARMLESS FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITIES, DAMAGES, ACTIONS, CLAIMS, AND SUITS IN CONNECTION WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OR PROCESSING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION IN RELATION TO YOUR CONSENT OR AUTHORIZATION UNDER THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.