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UPDATED MANILA, Philippines — The Senate approved the subscriber identity module (SIM) Registration bill on Monday on the second reading.
The SIM Registration Act will require the registration of SIM for electronic devices in a bid to eradicate crimes such as scamming which currently proliferates in text messages.
Senate Bill No. 1310 under Committee Report No. 5 was submitted to the plenary for debates after the committees, led by the public services panel, deliberated on the issue.
Senator Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate committee on public services, sponsored the measure in the plenary.
“Towards this end, the State shall require the registration of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) for electronic devices by all users to promote accountability in the use of SIM, and to provide law enforcement agencies the tools to resolve crimes which involve its utilization and the platform to deter the commission of wrongdoings,” the bill read.
“It’s not a silver bullet, but it’s a step in the right direction,” Poe said in a statement.
In the latest version of the Senate bill, the regulation of social media has been excluded to hasten its approval.
Also, the word “card” in SIM card was dropped in the proposed measure as it seeks to cover all forms of SIM, including those not contained in card form.
“Spoofing” or altering of SIMs to make it look like messages were sent by other registered users will be penalized under the bill.
“The intent of this proposed measure is to strengthen our cybercrime laws,” Poe said.
Telecommunication firms will be directed to protect the personal information in a database.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology will be mandated to annually audit the telecommunication companies’ compliance with security standards.
Breach of confidentiality will be met with a punishment, Poe stressed.
During the 18th Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives ratified the SIM Card Registration Act.
Then President Rodrigo Duterte, however, vetoed the measure as 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.”