House bill seeks registration of pre-paid SIM cards

MANILA, Philippines - Two Mindanao lawmakers sought yesterday the registration of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards to prevent these from being used in criminal activities.                                       

In filing Bill 3940, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and his brother Maximo of party-list group Abante Mindanao said anybody can buy and use a prepaid SIM card without fear of being traced.

“Basically, anyone with a prepaid SIM card can do anything and not be caught because he cannot be traced, his identity cannot be determined and he can simply throw away the SIM after use,” the lawmakers said.

They noted that SIM cards have been used by criminals in making ransom demands and in robberies, and by individuals to threaten, harass, and solicit donations.                      

Singapore and Kenya now require the registration of prepaid mobile cards.

“With this (registration of SIM cards), it would be easier to track down the owner or user of the prepaid SIM card. While it may not guarantee that the criminal user of the SIM card would be caught, at least there is an increase in the chances that they will be, unlike the zero chance of identification when there is no registration required,” the lawmakers said. The bill stipulates that SIM sellers require buyers to present government-issued identification cards.           

Telecommunications firms would activate the purchased SIM card only after entering the information of the buyer in their database. Companies that do not comply with the registration requirements would be prohibited from selling SIM cards. Violators would be fined P100,000 to P1 million and imprisoned for one to two years.                                              

The implementing rules and regulations would be formulated by the National Telecommunications Commission.          

According to mobile phone service providers, most of their customers are using prepaid SIM cards. 

The Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) convenes at the end of the month to identify the priority bills to be passed.

President Aquino promised to submit 12 priority bills to Congress.

Palace officials have said Charter Change or the imposition of new taxes will not be included in the list of priority bills.

Among the pieces of legislation considered for the list of priority bills are those that pertain to the “review of industries and entities that are imbued with national interests.”

“Our solutions to various issues involved will no longer be parochial,” Aquino said in an interview after the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Liberal Party at the Club Filipino in San Juan yesterday.

Another is the rationalization of pay and benefits for executives of government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).

Also considered in the list of priority bills are the institutionalization of the 12-year education program and the responsible parenting bill.

Aquino said, however, that he would not certify all priority bills as urgent because the Constitution mandates that a bill may only be certified as urgent when there is a national emergency to be addressed.

“The Constitution is very specific. When you say urgent, there has to be an emergency and there is a disaster being addressed,” he said.

The Senate, meanwhile, plans to pass 10 to 12 bills on top of the priority measures listed by LEDAC before it adjourns in June.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said each senator was assigned to come up with three bills they consider important.

“With an approach like that we feel we will be able to pass between 10 to 12... Then we would have really worked well for the first session of Congress,” he said.

These, however, would not include treaties to be ratified.

Sotto did not specify the bills but said this might include bills on peace and order because of rising crime rate, citing the recent abduction and murder of car traders Venson Evangelista and Emerson Lozano. – With Aurea Calica, Marvin Sy