Globe says willing to help in revising SIM card bill

GLOBE TELECOM, Inc. said it is ready to help legislators review the proposed SIM Card Registration Act, which President Rodrigo R. Duterte vetoed.

“Given this development, we stand ready to provide advice as they examine the matter deeper,” General Legal Counsel Froilan Vicente M. Castelo said in a statement late Saturday in response to a ����ý query.

“Globe reiterates its commitment to support the government in its fight against fraud, terrorism and other crimes through the enforcement of existing laws,” he added.

The Palace announced Friday that Mr. Duterte had vetoed the proposed measure, which seeks the mandatory registration of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards. The President said such a measure could result in “dangerous state intrusion and surveillance, threatening many constitutionally protected rights,” because it also calls for the registration of social media accounts.

“Globe is following with interest progress on the SIM Card Registration Act,” Mr. Castelo said.

The proposed measure sets penalties for anyone who registers a SIM card using false information.

Mr. Duterte is “pushing instead for a more thorough study of the proposal,” Mr. Castelo noted. “We respect his decision.”

“Globe reiterates its commitment to support the government in its fight against fraud, terrorism and other crimes through the enforcement of existing laws,” he added.

The leading mobile operators, Globe and PLDT, Inc.’s Smart Communications, Inc., both supported the proposed measure.

Globe has called for the “rational enforcement” of the SIM Card Registration Act once it becomes law.

It would “protect Filipinos from rampant fraudulent activities using mobile phones and the internet,” the company said in a statement in February.

PLDT and Smart said that the measure would also help “spur e-commerce adoption and growth.”

“The PCTO (Philippine Chamber of Telecom Operators) supports the SIM card registration bill but this should ensure safeguards that will not unduly displace prepaid subscribers by giving a sufficient SIM registration period and ensuring that the wide adoption or use of the national ID is already in place,” said Roy Cecil D. Ibay, Smart Communications vice president for regulatory affairs.

Democracy.Net.PH, an information and communications technology rights group, welcomed Mr. Duterte’s veto.

“We were this close to allowing an intrusion into our privacy for what was nothing more than security theater,” the group said in a statement.

“The President vetoed it not only because the constitutional defects were glaring, but because the passage of this law posed a real and serious threat to our national security,” it added.

The group also said that more than 83,000 individuals signed its petition on the Change website calling for the veto of the bill.

Senator Grace S. Poe-Llamanzares, who chairs the Senate committee on public services, expects Congress to “act in a timely manner in reconsidering the bill for approval in accordance with the legislative process.”

“Each day without the safeguards from the measure makes our people vulnerable to ripoffs that take away their money and cause them anxiety; the onslaught of cybercrimes and fake news that tear away the fabric of our democracy,” she said in a statement.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said: “By vetoing this bill, the President lets trolls thrive, spread lies and hate, and fuel discord and division.”

“Political trolling as we’ve seen these days is a thriving business. This veto is a big win for troll farms.”

“To say that I am disappointed by the President’s veto is an understatement. I authored this particular provision of the measure in order to address the anonymity in the internet and the social media that allowed an environment for troll accounts and fake news,” he added.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in ����ý through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin