THE DEPARTMENT of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and other government agencies should coordinate with telecommunications companies to trace and apprehend criminals using registered subscriber identification modules (SIM) for various fraudulent schemes.
“If the scammers have become creative, then we should be more creative with our response,” Senator Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares, who heads the Senate committee on public services told a hearing investigating the use of registered SIMs in text scams and other illegal activities.
Ms. Poe-Llamanzares added that the Department of Justice (DoJ) should ensure that people behind the use of these SIMs for illicit activity are prosecuted, especially if they are connected with outlawed Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).
Last month, she filed Senate Resolution No. 745, which wants to look into whether or not the SIM Registration Law has been fully implemented since being enacted in October last year. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
