MANILA, Philippines -- Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno called on legislators to double efforts to pass stricter privacy protection laws to prevent identity theft and other crimes committed through the Internet and other technological advances.

Identity theft occurs "when an individual appropriates another's name, address, social security number or other identifying information to commit fraud".

Puno said rapid advances in computerization and the Internet have made this crime easy to commit.

"The internet is tool that made it easier and cheaper to access data on just about anyone. Identity theft is a violation of the right to informational privacy and may cause one to become burdened by the wrongful use of his personal information."

He also said an information privacy law would complement the writ of habeas data, "a procedure designed to safeguard individual freedom in the information age."

"The promulgation of the writ of habeas data is but a small step to protect the informational privacy of the Filipino individual. More needs to be done," Chief Justice Puno said.

Currently, the Philippines has an outdated law on data or information transfer, Presidential Decree (PD) 1718 or Providing for the Incentives in The Pursuit of Economic Development Programs By Restricting The Use of Documents and Information Vital to The National Interest in Certain Proceedings, which prohibits the export of all documents and information to other counties that may adversely affect the interest of corporations, individuals, or government agencies.

While PD 1718 contains exceptions to the export of information, such as when these are needed to comply with international agreements or made "pursuant to authority granted by designated representatives of the President," Puno said the law cannot be enforced because of the lack of rules and regulations in its implementation.

"In other countries, privacy protection has become an impetus for modern laws that protect data and information," Puno said

For example, Puno said identity theft became the fastest growing crime in the US with more than 500,000 victims a year.