DOJ backs House bills on SIM card registration

The Department of Justice (DOJ) sees nothing illegal in the proposed legislations requiring the registration of SIM (subscriber identity modules) card buyers.

In her two-page legal opinion, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she has no legal or constitutional objection to House Bill Nos. 525, 858, 1519, 2444, 2588, and 2624, which all aim to aid law enforcement agencies in tracking down criminals who would use mobile phones to commit heinous crimes such as kidnapping with ransom, destruction of properties, and bombings, among others.

“[These bills are] within the purview of what is embodied in Article II on Declaration of Principles and State Policies, of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, particularly Section 5 thereof, which promotes the maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty and property, and the promotion of the general welfare being essential for the enjoyment of all the people,” De Lima said.

De Lima's legal opinion was sought by Rizal Rep. Joel Roy Duavit, chairman of the House committee on information and communications technology.

The Justice chief said it was within the power of Congress to craft laws for public safety and welfare, which should be given “primordial importance over business interests and personal comfort.”

De Lima said the DOJ also supported the penal clause proposed in the bills, as well as the provisions requiring the confidentiality of personal information obtained from SIM card buyers.

Under the House proposals, personal information cannot be disclosed unless a court orders so “to ensure that individual rights are still protected from reckless disclosure of information,” De Lima said.

She also suggested that a consolidated version of all six separate bills be adopted.

Calls to require the registration of SIM card buyers were revived following a deadly cellphone-triggered bombing in Cagayan de Oro in July.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III had earlier said no new law is needed to require prepaid SIM card registration, adding that there is already an existing National Telecommunications Commission directive on this.

Telecommunicatin firms, however, have contested the proposals and were able to secure a temporary restraining order against the NTC directive. The companies said the directive was violative of a person's right to telecommunicate, telecom services, information, and access to equipment and network or infrastructure. — Mark Merueñas/KBK/TJD, GMA News