Gatchalian: SIM Card Registration Act inches closer to becoming a law

A culmination of nearly a decade-long effort to help curb criminality through mobile phones, Senator Win Gatchalian said the approval on third reading of the proposed SIM Card Registration Act inches closer to the realization of a measure that will combat fraudulent digital activities now flourishing under the current system in the country.

"Finally, after eight years 11and two Congresses, our efforts have paid off. The registered subscriber identity module (SIM) card will enable law enforcers and regulatory agencies to have the means to track and monitor those carrying out wicked schemes and illicit acts," the senator said.

Gatchalian, who pursued the enactment of the measure while he was still a member of the House of Representatives, underscored the necessity of the law considering how the commission of illicit activities through mobile phones drastically changed through the years.

The senator said that when he first conceptualized the bill in 2013, it was envisioned to address criminal acts of syndicates and many forms of terrorism, bullying, and harassment, among many others.

"With the prevalence of online fraud, smishing, phishing and, most recently, the hacking of bank accounts and text scams, the situation demands for a more stringent measure that will discourage the commission of these despicable acts," said Gatchalian, co-author of Senate Bill No. 2395.

The legislation of SIM card registration, whether in its physical or digital form, is a step forward to create systems for a more secure digital transaction, reduce fraud, provide greater consumer access to e-government services, and create opportunities for mobile e-commerce, he explained.

Gatchalian has earlier pushed for the registration of the emerging digital SIM or embedded SIM (eSIM) as the Committee report version covers only the traditional SIM card or the chip that is physically installed or removed inside the mobile phones.

"We have to keep up with the constantly changing technology which appears to come at a rapid pace nowadays. Since the pandemic struck, we've seen how cyber criminals become more sophisticated, complex and innovative in their schemes just so they could commit cyberheist and engineered scams," the Vice Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies said.

With the measure already passed by the lower house, Gatchalian expressed confidence that it will just be a matter of time that the bill will come into fruition before the adjournment sine die of the present 18th Congress and fully implemented by next year.

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Gatchalian: Pagpaparehistro ng SIM card malapit nang maging batas

Matapos ang halos isang dekada ng pagsisikap na masugpo ang kriminalidad gamit ang mobile phones, sinabi ni Senador Win Gatchalian na malapit nang maging ganap na batas ang SIM Card Registration Act, ang panukalang magsasawata sa mga mapanlinlang na digital na aktibidad na kasalukuyang umuusbong sa bansa.

"Pagkatapos ng walong taon at dalawang Kongreso, sa wakas ay masasabi na natin na nagbunga na rin ang ating pagsisikap. Ang mga rehistradong subscriber identity module (SIM) card ay makakatulong sa mga awtoridad at regulatory agencies upang masubaybayan at matunton ang mga nagsasagawa ng mga bawal at masamang gawain," ani Gatchalian.

Binigyan-diin ni Gatchalian, na nagsulong ng nasabing panukala magmula noong miyembro pa sya House of Representatives, ang pangangailangan ng pagsasabatas nito, bunsod na rin ng paglala ng mga iligal na mga gawain kasabay ng pagiging moderno ng mga mobile phone sa paglipas ng mga taon.

Sa simula, aniya, layon niyang matugunan ang mga kriminal na gawain ng mga sindikato at iba't ibang uri ng terorismo, bullying, harassment at iba pa nung una niya itong inilatag noong 2013.

"Sa paglaganap ng mga mapanlinlang na gawain online, smishing, phishing at ang pinakahuli, ang pag-hack ng mga bank accounts at text scams, ang kasalukuyang sitwasyon ay nangangailangan ng mas mahigpit na patakaran upang magdalawang-isip ang mga nagbabalak gumawa ng masama," ani Gatchalian, isa sa may-akda ng Senate Bill No. 2395.

Ang pagsasabatas ng pagpaparehistro ng SIM, sa pisikal man o digital na anyo nito, ay magsusulong ng sistema na masisiguro na wasto ang mga digital transaction, mabawasan ang pandaraya at magbigay ng mas malawak na access sa e-government services, at mapalago ang mobile e-commerce, paliwanag ng senador.

Nauna nang iminungkahi ni Gatchalian ang pagpaparehistro ng nauuso ngayong digital SIM o embedded SIM (eSIM) dahil ang isinumiteng Committee report ay sumasaklaw lamang sa tradisyunal na SIM card o chip na inilalagay at naaalis sa loob ng mobile phones.

"Kailangan nating makipagsabayan sa mga pagbabago sa teknolohiya. Magmula nang nagka-pandemya, nakita natin kung paano naging mas sopistikado, kumplikado, at maparaan ang mga cyber criminal maisagawa lang ang kanilang cyberheist at mga scam," sabi pa ng Vice Chairperson ng Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies.

Dahil pasado na rin ang nasabing panukala sa mababang kapulungan, kumpiyansa si Gatchalian na sa lalong madaling panahon ay magiging isang ganap na itong batas bago matapos ang kasalukuyang 18th Congress at maipapatupad na ito sa susunod na taon.

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