Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 6) – A consolidated bill requiring mobile SIM cards registration was approved by the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology in a hearing on Monday.
“Due to the lack of SIM card regulation in the country, it becomes nearly impossible to trace the persons behind the text scams and hold them accountable for fraud, breach of data privacy or other punishable offenses that they committed using an unknown mobile number,” House Speaker Martin Romualdez said in his explanatory note.
House Bill. No. 14, the primary bill, was filed and authored by Romualdez, Ilocos 1st District Representative Alexander Marcos, and Tingog Party-list Representatives Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre.
If passed into law, the bill mandates SIM card users to register their personal information with telecommunications bodies or authorized card sellers.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte in April vetoed the measure which was earlier filed, citing the need for a more “thorough study” on the matter.
READ: Duterte vetoes proposed SIM Card Registration law
The Senate Services Committee will begin its hearing on the proliferation of spam and scam text messages on Thursday, Sept. 8.
