Passage of mandatory SIM card registration bill pushed

The House deputy speaker for Trade and Industry has joined the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in calling for the mandatory registration of prepaid SIM, or  subscriber identity module, cards to stem online scam activities.

Deputy Speaker Wes Gatchalian of Valenzuela joined the call in light of the reported growing number of online scams and fraudulent transactions involving food delivery services, among others.

“We change SIM cards as fast as we change our soiled shirts. Alarmingly, this seeming boundless stream of supply has become a magnet for nefarious and illegal activities,” Gatchalian said in a news statement.

“For example, mobile phone numbers are used to register with food delivery services like GrabFood and Food Panda. And because users can create fake names and hide behind the anonymity that a prepaid mobile number can give, they have become brazen in committing fraudulent acts,” he added. According to the lawmaker, even telcos themselves, as well delivery riders, are supportive of the push for mandatory SIM card registration.

“We want to protect the interest of our hardworking food and package delivery riders who have no choice but absorb the expenses and the penalties incurred when they fall victim to these pranks and scams,” he said.

Gatchalian also said that even text scams would virtually be eradicated should the SIM Card Registration Act be enacted into law.

“We would easily be able to ascertain the identity of these scammers as everyone purchasing a prepaid SIM card would now be required to provide a valid ID,” he said.

Gatchalian is one of the primary authors of the House Bill 5793 or the SIM Card Registration Act. The lower chamber approved the bill in 2018.

The bill aims to deter the commission of illegal activities using unregistered mobile SIM cards, and one of the priorities of the Duterte administration.

Gatchalian also said that the registration of mobile prepaid SIM cards goes hand in hand with the proposed Internet Transactions Act (ITA), of which he is also principal author, in curbing illegal activities online.

“SIM card registration imposes liability on the user, while the ITA imposes solidary liability on the e-commerce platform with the online merchant in specific instances. With these two laws in place, the e-commerce sphere would be a safer place for consumers and businesses alike,” he said.