SIM card registration
DON’T look now, but our lawmakers are determined to pass a law requiring the mandatory registration of all postpaid and prepaid mobile phone SIM cards.
In fact, the House of Representatives’ committee on information and communications technology has already approved the proposed SIM card registration law.
A consolidation of 14 similar bills filed by 19 congressmen, House Bill (HB) 14 aims to help curb crimes aided by the many wonders of modern technology.
Filed by House Speaker Martin Gomez Romualdez, HB 14 reflects the concern over the increasing number of crimes being committed with the use of mobile phones.
“Panahon na para matigil na ang paggamit ng modern technology para lang makapanloko,” according to a relative of a Filipino worker in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Under HB No. 14, public telecommunications entities (PTEs) and authorized sellers should require end-users to accomplish and sign in triplicate a registration form issued by the PTE.
An end-user who refuses to register a subscriber identity module (SIM) card should not be sold an SIM card.
It will be recalled that last April, then President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed the SIM card bill because of the inclusion of social media providers in the proposed registration.
Like other Filipinos, we cannot overemphasize the importance of speeding up the approval of the proposed piece of legislation.
Certainly, the public expects the government, through concerned offices and agencies, to deliver on its promise to protect the interest of the more than 100 million people.
