In an effort to deter criminal acts via text messages, Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez and three other lawmakers proposed a bill that will require the registration of all prepaid and postpaid mobile phone subscriber identity module (SIM) cards.
Romualdez is joined in House Bill (HB) No. 14, or “An Act Requiring the Registration of Subscriber Identity Module Cards”, by presidential son Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos of Ilocos Norte, and Reps. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and Jude Acidre of Tingog Party-list.
“This bill seeks to require ownership registration of SIM cards to eradicate mobile phone-aided criminal activities,” Romualdez said in a statement accompanied by a copy of the bill.
At present, only SIM cards for postpaid mobile or cellular phone subscriptions are required to be registered.
The bill’s explanatory note stated that the affordability and accessibility of SIM cards “have resulted in the democratization of mobile communications, possibly contributing to a more leveled playing field in terms of employment, education and access to public information.”
Since a mobile phone card could be bought for as low as P30 in a sari-sari or convenience store, criminals can easily dispose of a suspended number and buy another one to continue their modus operandi.
The note added that the “unregulated SIM card market has also given way to several mobile phone scams”, including simple text messages that ask users to send cellular loads, “sophisticated voice phishing methods”, and marketing spams used to gain access to sensitive personal information of the unsuspecting mobile phone users.
“Furthermore, due to the lack of SIM card registration, it becomes nearly impossible to trace the persons behind the text scams and hold them accountable for fraud, breach of data privacy or other punishable offenses that they committed using an unknown mobile number,” it said.
Romualdez assured that “information in the registration document shall be treated as absolutely confidential, unless access to it is granted by the subscriber in writing.”
Such information can only be disclosed without the subscriber’s permission upon order by a court or written request by a law enforcement agency in relation to an investigation of an unlawful act involving the use of the mobile number.
Unauthorized access to the personal information of the registrant will be a violation of the law.
If the offense is committed by a public telecommunications entity (PTE), the president and other responsible officers shall be held liable and fined up to P300,000 for the first offense, up to P500,000 for the second offense, and up to P1 million for the third and any succeeding violation.
If the violator is an authorized seller, his operation shall be suspended and slapped with a fine of P5,000 to P50,000.
If the offender is an officer or employee of an implementing agency, he shall be dismissed from the service and fined, without prejudiced to the filing of appropriate criminal, civil and administrative charges.
Under HB 14, every PTE and their authorized sellers shall require an end user to accomplish and sign in triplicate a numbered registration form issued by the PTE.
The form will include an attestation that the person appearing before the seller is the same person who accomplished the document and that the person presented valid identification cards.
If the user refuses to comply with the registration requirement, which will also apply to foreigners, the PTE and its authorized sellers cannot sell a SIM card.
The registration information will include the subscriber’s name, date of birth, gender, his address as appearing in a valid ID with photo, and the assigned mobile number and serial number.