Senate panel prepares report on SIM registration card bill

The Senate Committee on Public Services is preparing its report on the SIM Registration Card Bill, Senator Grace Poe said Monday.

“Priority natin ngayon na mai-report out iyong sa SIM card registration [our priority is to release our report on SIM card registration],” Poe, the committee chairman, said in a statement.

In July, Poe filed the SIM Card Registration Bill, which was vetoed by then-President Rodrigo Duterte.

Under her bill, public telecommunications entities (PTE) shall require SIM cards to be registered as a prerequisite to their sale and activation.

All social media account providers will also require users to declare their real names and phone numbers upon the creation of an account. According to Poe, the registration of SIM cards will be a crucial step against scammers.

Meanwhile, she said the committee will also open an inquiry to tackle the processes of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and other agencies.

“Tapos sa susunod, magpapatawag tayo ng inquiry para sa mga resolution tungkol sa proseso ng NTC [we will also call an inquiry for resolutions regarding the processes of the NTC] ,” she said.

Poe said that government agencies, stakeholders, and telecommunication companies have expressed support for legislation that would dodge text scams.

“Alam din naman ng telcos na kapag paulit-ulit ang text scams, sila rin naman ang responsible du'n, so gusto rin nila may registration,” she said.

[Telcos also know that they will be responsible for the text scams, so they also want a registration.] — BM, GMA News