Lawmaker wants prepaid SIM card users' identities recorded

MANILA, Philippines - In a bid to curb the crimes committed with the use of cellular phones, such as text scams, a legislator has filed a bill requiring public telecommunications companies to keep a record of the buyers of prepaid subscriber identity module (SIM) packs.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said unscrupulous users of cellular phone numbers with an unregistered SIM allow them to consummate crimes undetected.

"By taking advantage of the facility of cellular phones with unregistered SIM, criminals practically go invisible in carrying out their malevolent plots of communicating their evil designs to co-conspirators, communicating threats or sending SMS messages of ransom demands," Castelo said.

He said the text scams involve hoax messages on winnings from commercial promos to dupe unsuspecting victims of their hard earned money.

Castelo proposed to equip law enforcement agencies with the tools necessary to track down such criminals by enabling them to trace users of cellular phone numbers.

"By recording the identity of all buyers of prepaid SIM and requiring public telecommunications entities (PTEs) to keep record of these buyers, law enforcement agencies shall be able to hunt down crime perpetrators who take refuge in anonymity," Castelo said.

Under House bill 3928, PTEs are mandated to ensure that the identity of buyers of their prepaid SIM cards is properly recorded and their addresses verified through the presentation of valid identification cards.

If the sale of SIM cards is done through agents, PTEs shall ensure that said agents submit to them the verified names and addresses of the buyers within 15 days from date of sale.

The bill directs the PTEs to submit to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) within 30 days from the date of effectivity of the Act, a verified list of their current authorized dealers/agents nationwide.

The PTEs shall also submit to the NTC an updated list on a quarterly basis.

Under the bill, upon the issuance of a proper court order or a valid request from a government law enforcement agency showing proof that a particular cellular phone number was used in the commission of a crime or for an illegal purpose, the telecommunications service provider shall be mandated to reveal the identity and personal circumstances of the user of such number.

The bill imposes a penalty of P50,000 to P300,000 and six months imprisonment on any PTE found guilty of violating the provisions of the proposed measure.