Senate sees passage of revised SIM card bill

MANILA, Philippines — The SIM Card Registration Bill is expected to hurdle the Senate quickly, given the support of a majority of members of the chamber, Sen. Grace Poe said yesterday.

Poe, who chairs the Senate public services committee, refiled her Senate Bill 99 this 19thCongress “to battle incessant spam messages clogging cellphones and duping subscribers.”

“Hackers, spammers and phishers appear to get more sophisticated by the day and come up with even more believable scams. They are emboldened to do their dark deeds because they can remain anonymous,” the senator said.

She said the open support of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri will be “an impetus to bolster the passage of our bill.”

Poe’s staff received spam text messages bearing their names. The messages were invitations to click a link to play “slot game.”

Unwanted messages offering items, jobs, loans, among others have also been ceaseless, she said.

Zubiri nearly fell victim to robbery and extortion attempts through a series of text messages from individuals posing as local officials demanding cash from him.

This prompted Zubiri to reiterate his call for the speedy passage of the SIM Card Registration bill.

All existing SIM card subscribers shall register for free with their respective public telecommunication entities or PTEs within 180 days from the measure’s effectivity.

The registration period may be extended for another 120 days upon written request to the Department of Information and Communications Technology. Failure to do so will authorize the PTEs to retire the SIM card.

Poe’s bill prohibits the disclosure of information obtained in the registration process, except upon a court order, written consent of the subscriber or in compliance with the Data Privacy Act.

Breach of confidentiality by any PTE shall be meted penalties: first offense, a fine not to exceed P300,000; second offense, not more than P500,000; third and subsequent offense, a fine not exceeding P1 million for every offense.

The unauthorized sale of registered SIM cards shall also be penalized by imprisonment of no less than six years and/or a fine of P200,000.

As of March 31, 2022, Globe has 87.4 million subscribers while Smart has 70.3 million. Currently, Dito reported having 11 million subscribers.

“Each day without the law, someone gets victimized. Scammers spare no one. We must stop them in their tracks,” Poe said.

The 18th Congress passed the bill but then president Rodrigo Duterte vetoed the measure, owing to the last-minute inclusion of a provision that mandates the registration of social media accounts, which he said may induce state intrusion and surveillance that threaten constitutionally guaranteed rights.

Zubiri told reporters the contentious provision is likely going to be dropped to ensure the bill’s enactment into law.