The House of Representatives has approved the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card registration bill on second reading.
House Bill (HB) 14 or the SIM Card Registration Bill was passed on 2nd reading during the plenary session on Wednesday, Sept. 14. Deputy Speaker TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza presided over the session.
Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos delivered a sponsorship speech in support of the measure’s passage. This was Marcos's first sponsorship speech as a congressman.
Iloilo 3rd district Rep. Lorenz Defensor moved to approve the bill.
HB 14 was then passed via voice vote on second reading. No amendments were made to it.
The SIM Card Registration Bill is a priority measure of the 19th Congress. Leaders of both Chambers of Congress previously met and coordinated the swift passage of the measure–alongside the postponement of the Dec. 5, 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections–before the House's scheduled recess on Oct. 1.
The second reading is the penultimate step in the House process before its approval on third reading. After this, the measure is transmitted to the Senate.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed the SIM Card Registration Bill toward the end of his term in April 2022 despite it having hurdled both the House and the Senate.