Mandatory SIM card registration bill gets House panel nod

File photo of SIM cards. AFP photo

MANILA, Philippines — In a bid to stem the rise of mobile phone scams, the House committee on information and communications technology on Monday approved the consolidated bill that aims to require the registration of mobile subscriber identity module (SIM) cards.

Panel head Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said the approved consolidated measures would have House Bill No. 14 as the primary bill.

House Bill. No. 14 was filed and authored by Speaker Martin Romualdez, Ilocos 1st District Rep. Alexander Marcos, and Tingog party-list Representatives Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre. It was refiled in the lower chamber just a few months after former President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed the measure due to a provision mandating the inclusion of registration for social media providers.

“The affordability and accessibility of SIM cards have resulted in the democratization of mobile communications, possibly contributing to a more level playing field in terms of employment, education, and access to public information,” states the explanatory note of House Bill. No. 14 which was filed on June 30.

“On the other hand, having an unregulated SIM card market has also given way to several mobile phone scams,” it also says.

READ: Duterte vetoes SIM Card Registration bill 

But Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel voted against the consolidated measure for SIM card registration. He was the only one who opposed the bill’s passage.

Manuel said he would submit a dissenting opinion that will be attached to the committee report and raise his points in the upcoming plenary deliberations.

Senator Grace Poe, who heads the Senate committee on public services, said her panel would be conducting a public hearing about the SIM card registration bill on Wednesday, September 7.

READ: Poe backs mandatory SIM card registration amid ‘personalized’ text scams

KGA