Presidential aspirant Senator Manny Pacquiao on Sunday urged the Senate to expedite the passage of the measure that would mandate the registration of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards before Congress goes on a Christmas break.

Pacquiao has filed Senate Bill No. 388 or the proposed SIM Card Registration Act which has been consolidated into Senate Bill No. 2395. The bill primarily seeks to put a stop to the unrestricted utilization of cheap and disposable SIM cards in various swindling activities.

Its counterpart measure in the House of Representatives has already been approved on third and final reading last Dec. 6. The Senate has until Dec. 18 to approve the bill on third and final reading or before the start of the May 2022 campaign period.

“ A lot of people fall victims to these text scams because of desperation. If we can approve this before the Christmas break and President Duterte signs it into law by January, we should be able to stop these text scams in time for the campaign period,” Pacquaio said in a statement.

“Time is of the essence here. Habang hindi tayo kumikilos at hindi naisasabatas ang aking panukala ay baka mas lalo pang maraming mabibiktima ang mga scammer na gumagamit ng mga mobile phones (Until we move and pass this into law, more people would be victimized by scammers who use mobile phones),” he added.

Pacquiao, who is the usual subject of various text scams, pointed out that the passage of the bill into law is imperative especially during a time when many people are hoping for instant cash due to financial hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As technology advances, Pacquiao said mobile phones are now used by groups and individuals in spreading fake news and information.

“Unfortunately, crimes have developed parallel to the improvement of technology,” Pacquiao noted.