The House information and communications technology committee gave the green light to the SIM card registration bill, which would require the registration of all postpaid and prepaid mobile phone subscriber identity module (SIM) cards, and was passed on the final reading in the 18th Congress but vetoed by President Rodrigo Duterte on April due to the inclusion of social media providers in the proposed registration.
The approved measure was a consolidation of 14 similar bills authored by 19 lawmakers filed in the 19th Congress. “The mother bill is House Bill No. 14 filed by House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the exact version approved in the last Congress,” Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco said.
The consolidated bill approved by the House panel seeks to require the registration of both postpaid and prepaid SIM cards to help curb crimes aided by the said technology.
This is because affordable and accessible prepaid SIM cards “resulted in the democratization of mobile communications, possibly contributing to a more leveled playing field in terms of employment, education, and access to public information.”
HB14 states that public telecommunications entities and authorized sellers should require end users to accomplish and sign in triplicate a numbered registration form. End users who refuse to have the SIM card registered will not be sold a SIM card.
The information will be treated as absolutely confidential and may only be disclosed through a court order or a written request by a law enforcement agency.
The recent wave of spam and scam text messages from unknown mobile numbers, some containing the full name of the intended targets, is a worrisome development that makes SIM card registration more palatable for Filipinos. By allowing government to require the registration of SIM cards, we hope that our privacy and cybersecurity can be better protected by the people who are supposed to its guardians, so we can reap the benefits of surrendering our information without having to worry about that information being harvested and used for nefarious means by unscrupulous parties, due to poor security protocols and safeguards.*
