MANILA, Philippines - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has endorsed a Senate bill that would require buyers of pre-paid subscriber identification module (SIM) cards to provide personal information and present official IDs to sellers in a move to discourage crimes like kidnap-for-ransom, extortion, and robbery. Introduced by Sen. Manuel Villar, Senate Bill No. 2644 would mandate all sellers of pre-paid SIM cards to ask buyers to present government-issued identification cards and to record their personal informal information.
The personal information will be recorded for safekeeping by the telecommunications company distributing the SIM card.
It proposes a fine ranging from P100,000 to P1 million and imprisonment from one year to two years for violators.
In a two-page letter to Sen. Ramon Revilla, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Services, Secretary De Lima said that once passed into law, Senate Bill No. 2644 would make it easier for law enforcers to track down criminals who would be using pre-paid SIM cards for illegal activities.
De Lima said that while the government recognizes the right of every citizen to use technology for equal access to information, “such liberty may be curtailed if the use of such technology is abused and utilized to commit crimes.”
Congress has the right to enact laws that are of the public good, “even if they impair the comfort of private citizens or the officials of government,” she said.
Rey Panaligan, Manila Bulletin
