SEN. Grace Poe yesterday said she will refile the SIM Card Registration Bill in the 19th Congress after it was vetoed by President Duterte due to concerns about free speech and data privacy.
Poe, one of the authors of the original bill, said the proposal, if enacted into law, will help put an end to mobile phone-aided crimes in the country.
“We will file the SIM card registration bill to combat the scourge of text scams that prey on the need and vulnerability of our people,” Poe said in a text message to reporters.
“The whole of government must rein in the intrepid scammers and put an end to their nefarious activities,” she added.
Poe, the chair of the committee on public services in the 18th Congress, stressed the importance of the measure, adding that present economic difficulties make many ordinary Filipinos easy prey to fake offers for employment and instant money gimmicks.
She said that putting an end to such illegal activities requires a “whole government” approach, one that must be backed up by legislation.
“A law on SIM card registration should be complemented by enforcement of existing laws and regulations to stop the scammers. The aim of the bill is unassailable. We trust that the 19th Congress will see its passage through,” Poe said.
In blocking the bill, Duterte explained it will “give rise to a situation of dangerous state intrusion and surveillance.”
Central to Duterte’s veto of the measure is the inclusion of social media regulations in the measure, requiring social media firms to compel their users to provide their real names and phone numbers when creating accounts.
Supporters of the measure said it would help address not only text scams, bank frauds and defamation online but even terrorism.
