"The President has decided to veto the consolidated Senate Bill No. 2395/House Bill No. 5793, which seeks to mandate the registration of all SIM cards and social media accounts, with the purpose of deterring electronic communication-aided crimes," Andanar said in a statement.
He noted that incorporation of social media media providers in the registration requirement was not part of the original version of the bill, therefore it needs to be thoroughly studied in order to ensure that privacy and human rights are observed.
"While the President lauds the efforts of Congress in finding ways to address the increasing evidence of cybercrimes and… communication technology related offenses, he was constrained to disagree with the inclusion of social media in the measure without providing proper guidance… [as it] may give rise to a dangerous state intrusion and surveillance threatening many constitutionally protected rights," he added.
The presidents’ office seeks to ensure that every statute is in line with the country's basic law, notably with the constitutional guarantees of "individual privacy and free speech," Andanar said.
The SIM Card Registration Act was agreed on by the Senate and the House of Representatives earlier this week and handed over to the president for signing. The proposed version of the bill stipulated that prior to acquiring a SIM card a person shall undertake registration, with a newly added provision obliging a person to disclose their real name and phone number when creating a social media account.