Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, a victim of credit card hacking, on Wednesday pushed for the mandatory registration of prepaid SIM cards to prevent online scams.
Gatchalian said the Philippines is overdue to join the ranks of 155 countries that require proof of identity when purchasing a SIM Card.
He cited the recent report where five riders received different orders via delivery app Foodpanda for the same address in Quezon City, only to find out that the place was abandoned.
Gatchalian was victimized by these online scams last year after his credit card was hacked to make P1 million in purchases from foodpanda.
"Kung may tamang pagkakakilanlan ang taong nagpadeliver gamit ang delivery app, hindi magiging madali ang makapangloko sa mga food riders at maiiwasan ang mga ganitong klase ng insidente," Gatchalian said.
"Hangga't walang batas na magpaparusa sa mga kawatan, hindi matatapos ang pambibiktima sa mga gumagawa ng trabaho nila nang marangal at umaasang may maiuwi sa kanilang pamilya," he added.
Gatchalian earlier filed Senate Bill 176, or the proposed SIM Card Registration Act, which seeks to require prepaid SIM card users to present a valid ID and photo and sign a control-numbered registration form issued by the service provider of the purchased SIM card.
These forms will then be sent to the same service provider and the National Telecommunications Commission for their record.
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