MANILA - The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed on final reading a measure seeking to postpone the Dec. 5, 2022 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) for one year. With 265 affirmative votes, six negative votes, and three abstentions, the chamber approved on third reading House Bill 4673, which proposes to allow the deferment of this year's BSKE and move its date to the first Monday of December 2023. Under the measure, the subsequent synchronized BSKE was also set on the first Monday of December 2026 and every three years thereafter. Once passed into law, incumbent barangay and SK officials will retain their position on holdover capacity "unless sooner removed or suspended for cause." House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe earlier said Speaker Martin Romualdez is supportive of the proposal because this would allow the Commission and Elections (Comelec) and the local government units to better prepare for clean and orderly barangay polls and provide
(File photo) MANILA - Senator Grace Poe is determined to include "spoofing" as a violation under her sponsored Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1310 or the SIM (Subscriber identity module) Card Registration. Spoofing, as defined in Section 3 of SB 1310, "shall refer to the act of transmitting misleading or inaccurate information about the source of the phone call or text message, with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value." Spoofing or the altering of the SIM card makes it appear that the message was sent by the registered user. "The intent of this proposed measure is to strengthen our cybercrime laws," Poe said. While fine-tuning the measure in the plenary on Monday, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III suggested removing spoofing, saying it is already a crime under other existing laws. "In my opinion, it can be punishable under the existing laws already," Pimentel said, to which Poe disagreed. She cited that the
(File photo) MANILA - The House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading a measure requiring the registration of all postpaid and prepaid mobile phone subscriber identity module (SIM) cards. With 250 affirmative votes, six negative votes, and one abstention, the chamber passed House Bill 14, or the proposed SIM Card Registration Act, which is aimed at preventing the proliferation of mobile phone scams, data breaches, and assist law enforcement agencies in resolving crimes involving the use of mobile phone units. Under the measure, every public telecommunications entity (PTE) or authorized seller shall require an end user to accomplish and sign in triplicate a numbered registration form issued by the PTE. The form shall include an attestation that the person appearing before the seller is the same person who accomplished the document and that he or she presented valid identification cards. The form shall indicate the subscriber's name, date of birth, gender,
(File photo) MANILA - The House of Representatives on Monday approved on final reading the measure seeking to expand the coverage of compulsory insurance for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). With 180 affirmative votes, six negative votes, and no abstention, the chamber passed on third reading House Bill 10802, which seeks to amend the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995 (Republic Act 8042). The measure seeks to expand the coverage of compulsory insurance for agency-hired OFWs to include rehires, direct hires, and government hires. It would also include temporary partial disablement in the list of benefits to be enjoyed by the OFWs. Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. said the insurance coverage includes death, permanent disability, repatriation cost, subsistence allowance when involved in a case in the receiving country, money claims, compassionate visit by a family member or a requested individual when hospitalized for at least seven consecutive days, medical evacuation, a
MANILA - The House of Representatives on Monday approved on final reading a measure strengthening professionalism and promoting the continuity of policies and modernization initiatives within the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). With 184 affirmative votes, six negative votes, and no abstention, the chamber passed on third reading House Bill 10521, which will provide fixed terms for officials holding senior positions and ranks in the AFP. It aims to professionalize the AFP by strengthening the merit system and to eliminate the "revolving door" accommodation promotions and create a new culture of excellence in leadership and accountability in the military. The bill proposes a fixed tour of duty of three years for the chief of staff, vice chief of staff, the deputy chief of staff, as well as the commanding generals of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy, and the Philippine Air Force, united command commanders, and the inspector general. The bill states that the fixed tour