The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on second reading a bill requiring the registration of all postpaid and prepaid mobile phone Subscriber Identify Module (SIM) cards to lessen mobile phone-enabled illegal activities.
Speaker Martin G. Romualdez is the principal author of the approved consolidated bill. A similar measure was first introduced more than 12 years ago in the 15th Congress.
Senators, meanwhile, said the passage of the SIM Registration bill will frustrate the goal of scammers and other criminal elements victimizing cellphone users.
In passing the proposed law on SIM card registration on second reading, the House approved the recommendation of its committee on information and communications technology chaired by Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco to adopt Speaker Romualdez’s House Bill (HB) 14 “without amendments” as the mother bill, in consolidation with 15 other related measures.
Lawmakers pushing for stricter SIM card registration and regulation hope their efforts will bear fruition this time because recent spam text messages have contained even the private information of mobile phone users, such as their names.
They said the leaking of such information violates the Data Privacy Act.
At present, only SIM cards for postpaid mobile subscriptions are required to be registered.
Romualdez’s co-authors of Bill No. 14 are Reps. Ferdinand Alexander A. Marcos of Ilocos Norte, and Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and Jude Acidre, both of Tingog party-list.
Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate on public services, stressed this will deter ill-intentioned scammers and criminals from further hiding under the shadow of anonymity.
“This bill is a concrete step towards making our telecommunications and digital system a safer environment for all, as had been the hope of the 18th Congress when it previously passed the measure,” she added.
Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada said this will help not only in crime investigation and solution of law enforcement agencies but in improving the government’s cyber-defense capabilities as well.
Due to this, Poe and Ejercito believe in the need to legislate the registration of all subscriber identity module (SIM) cards in the country.
“We are not alone in wanting this kind of policy. Globally, the trend skews heavily in favor of SIM registration,” said Poe.
Tiangco, Marcos, and Acidre sponsored the measure aimed at preventing the proliferation of mobile phone scams and data breaches, and assisting law enforcement agencies in resolving crimes involving the use of mobile phone units.
“It is an accepted fact that anonymity involved in prepaid SIM cards constitutes a major threat to our law enforcement. Banking and financial frauds, kidnapping, sexual exploitation of children, cyber theft, and other similar crimes have been reported, but remain unsolved due to the untraceable nature of disposable SIM cards,” Tiangco said.
“We must highlight, however, that this act is not going to be a silver bullet against the ongoing scams that have proliferated in the last few months, however, this representation is confident that this will serve as a deterrent against unscrupulous people victimizing our fellow countrymen,” the panel chair added.
Marcos said: “The war against malicious forms of technology will be fought one battle at a time and step by step we shall emerge victorious. We shall win it because we, in the government, have the resolve and the political and moral responsibility as guardians of the people’s welfare.”
Acidre said: “Mr. Speaker, each day without the safeguards from the measure makes our people vulnerable to rip-offs that take away their money and cause them anxiety; the onslaught of cybercrimes and fake news that tear away the fabric of our democracy. Jurisprudence is replete with examples clarifying the limits of our rights in cases of illicit acts or when public safety and order are at stake.”
“Requiring the registration of SIM cards establishes the identity of users and makes them accountable for everything that they do with their number deters perpetrators from committing cyber crimes because they can no longer hide behind false identities. Too many Filipinos are falling prey to these online and text scams. Mr. Speaker, esteemed colleagues, technology should make our lives better, and it is our duty to keep it so,” Acidre added.
Scores of House members who authored the 15 related measures were made co-authors of the mother bill, which “seeks to require ownership registration of SIM cards to eradicate mobile phone-aided criminal activities,” according to the explanatory note of House Bill No. 14.
HB No. 14 was consolidated with 15 other resolutions, namely HR Nos. 59, 116, 506, 794, 841, 951, 1528, 2113, 2478, 2819, 2923, 3299, 3327, 4098, and 4299.