Poe says SIM card registration law has enough safeguards amid SC petition
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday assured the public that the SIM card registration law has enough safeguards to protect the users’ privacy.
Poe, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Services, made the assurance in light of the petition filed before the Supreme Court to declare the law unconstitutional due to privacy concerns.
READ: Petitioners ask SC to declare SIM Card Registration Act unconstitutional
“The law has instituted adequate safeguards that will vouch for consumers’ right to privacy while ensuring a safe and secure mobile use,” Poe said in a statement.
She also noted the importance of the law, which was created to protect users.
“We worked hard and fought for its passage with the aim to fend off scams and spams preying on our people, and sometimes causing them financial losses and endangering their safety,” she said.
Poe nevertheless recognized that the “fate of the SIM Registration Law now rests on the collective wisdom of the magistrates of the Supreme Court.”
“We respect the processes of the high court in deliberating on the petition,” she then said.
Petitioners from various sectors, assisted by the Leflegis Legal Services and the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers said the law “tramples upon zones of privacy and sweeps away all protections guaranteed by the Constitution against unreasonable searches and seizures.”
They also urged the High Court to issue a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction against the implementation of the law.
The deadline for SIM card registration is April 26, according to the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
