SEN. REVILLA RAISES CONCERN ON THE WORSENING PROLIFERATION OF SCAM TEXT MESSAGES; DATA PRIVACY ALREADY BREACHED

Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. in Monday's plenary session in the Senate, joined Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada when the latter delivered a speech on the rampant spread of scam text messages.

Revilla has previously asked the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to address the proliferation of scams through text messaging.

The lawmaker raised concern on the matter saying many filipinos have already fallen prey to perpetrators, who the lawmaker said "exploit technology for personal gain." The recent wave of scam text messages has become more alarming since they already contain personal information such as the receiver's name indicating serious breaches in data privacy.

The solon bared that despite his letter to NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, the NTC has not offered any explanation on how the schemes are run, and that he is yet to receive a response from the agency.

Revilla asked how scammers gained access to names and other pertinent information of the public, adding that he was puzzled how sensitive personal data is obtained by unscrupulous groups when there is a law against it. He further asked if there was someone who deliberately leaked the information that was compromised, or worse, if someone had sold it.

The lawmaker also questioned the recent memorandum of NTC ordering telecommunication providers to blast warnings to the public. The senator lamented that it is NTC's job to address the issue and should not pass the responsibility to the service providers.

He agreed with Estrada that a thorough investigation should be conducted as it had already victimized even some members of the chamber.