Sotto: Bombings, scams to continue with Duterte veto of SIM Card Registration bill

Senate President Vicente Sotto III took to Twitter on Friday to express his displeasure of President Rodrigo Duterte's veto of the proposed SIM Card Registration law.

"Ayos! Tuloy ang mga bombings and blackmail and scams using prepaid sims [Bombings, blackmail, and scams will continue using prepaid SIMS]," Sotto tweeted in reaction to the news item on Duterte's veto.

The Senate and the House of Representatives ratified the bill on February 2 this year.

According to Malacañang, Duterte vetoed the bill because he believes it needs further study.

In a statement on Friday, acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said Duterte was constrained to disagree with the inclusion of social media in the measure without providing proper guidelines and definitions thereto.

Andanar said Duterte believes this may give rise to a situation of dangerous state intrusion and surveillance, threatening many constitutionally protected rights.

GMA News Online has reached out to Speaker Lord Allan Velasco for comment regarding the matter, but he has yet to reply as of posting time.

Lawmakers who have pushed for this measure believe it can help in deterring crimes and other lawless actions being perpetrated through the use of SIM cards. —KBK, GMA News