MANILA, Philippines - The House committee on communications and information technology has approved an anti-cybercrime bill, which aims to protect individuals and institutions from cyber attacks.
The panel, chaired by Taguig City Rep. Sigfrido Tinga, also rejected last-minute proposals from law enforcement agencies, particularly the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), to remove the legal requirement of a court warrant before telecommunication firms disclose data on the mobile phone usage of subscribers.
Approved was House Bill 383 or the “Cybercrime Prevention Act,” principally authored by former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which seeks to criminalize the use of the Internet for illegal activities.
Co-authors include her son, Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado Arroyo, Tarlac Rep. Susan Yap, Ilocos Sur Rep. Eric Singson Jr., Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, Pampanga Rep. Carmelo Lazatin, Marikina Rep. Marcelino Teodoro, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, and Buhay party-list Rep. Mariano Michael Velarde Jr.
“People from all walks of life may fall prey to fraudsters and other unlawful attacks such as committing fraud, child pornography, intellectual property infringement, stealing of identities and privacy violation,” said Mrs. Arroyo.
She said the proliferation and ease of committing cyber crimes make it necessary “to ensure the security, integrity, confidentiality and dependability of the country’s information and communications structure.”
“A law that will facilitate the detection, investigation and prosecution of the misuse, abuse and illegal access of our information and communication system is therefore imperative,” Arroyo said.
It is the policy of the state to provide an environment conducive to the development, acceleration and application of information and communication technology (ICT) to attain free, easy and intelligible access to exchange and/or delivery of information, the lawmaker said.
“There is a need to protect and safeguard the integrity of computer and communication systems, networks and database, and the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and data stored therein, from all forms of misuse, abuse and illegal access by making such conduct punishable under the law,” she said.
Arroyo argued that the state “must have sufficient powers to effectively prevent and combat such offenses by facilitating their detection, investigation and prosecution at both the domestic and international levels, and by providing arrangements for fast and reliable international cooperation.”
The approval of the bill came with some amendments, including on jurisdiction, removing limitation on the nationality of those involved and the coverage of the impact area of the crime; making lewd exhibition on cyberspace per se a crime; and including threats to life and threats to national security as limits/requirements for an issuance of a court order for the interception of data.
The measure also penalizes cyberstalking and defamation over social media.
Tinga said that while the bill recognizes freedom of expression, it has to be within the confines of what is acceptable.
The measure adopted the definition of terms as used in the Budapest Convention.
The bill provides penalties ranging from P200,000 to P1.25 million and imprisonment of prision mayor.
NBI officials present during the hearing wanted the legal requirement for court warrants to be removed but this drew harsh reactions from lawmakers.
“You’re violating the law,” Arroyo said. “What’s the basis of the issuance of warrant? You cannot issue warrant just because you want to tap someone. It has to be defined. Otherwise you have a police state.”
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