Sotto working to save SIM card bill

BACOLOD CITY––Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Tuesday that he was working to save his prepaid SIM Card registration bill vetoed by President Duterte.

Sotto, in a press conference in Bacolod City, said the veto of the consolidated version of Senate Bill No. 2395 and House Bill No. 5793 could be overturned.

“When the president vetoes a bill, it is as good as dead unless the two houses of Congress voting separately overturn the veto by two-thirds votes,” Sotto said.

The bill, he said, would then become a law without the signature of the president.

Sotto said he has been pushing for the prepaid SIM Card registration law since 1998. He pointed out that unregistered prepaid SIM cards had been used for bombings, scams, scandals, and to put people in a bad light that could be prevented if they are registered.

The Senate president said he discussed his plan to save the bill with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, pointing out that there is only one provision that the executive branch is opposing.

Duterte vetoed the measure because the inclusion of social media providers in the registration was not part of the original version of the bill and needed a more thorough study, acting presidential spokesperson Secretary Martin Andanar said earlier.

Sotto said Congress only has six working days left from May 23 to June 3 to save the bill since there is no time to file it again.

A petition could be filed before the Supreme Court later to declare the provision opposed by the Executive Branch unconstitutional, he said.

Medialdea told Sotto they would study his proposal.

Sotto said he would also pursue the inquiry into the persons behind vegetable smuggling, which allegedly includes some government officials as protectors.

He will conduct a hearing as soon as he gets the list of names of those involved from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, and
make a committee report recommending the filing of cases against them before the Ombudsman.

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