Senate panel eyes amendment of RA 10175 to ease case probes

“So maybe i-amend natin ‘yang batas na ‘yan na pagdating sa investigation ng isang krimen ay dapat obligado ang service provider like Globe to disclose to the investigating agencies ‘yung contents ng kanilang (we will amend that law when it comes to the investigation of a crime, service providers like Globe should be required to disclose to the investigating agencies the contents of their) cellphone,” dela Rosa said. (File photo: Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA – The Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs will push for amendments to Republic Act (RA) 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 to allow the disclosure of computer data, including the content of the communication in calls or text messages of individuals who are subjects of case investigations.

This, after Lt. Col. Christopher Luyun, officer in charge of the Philippine National Police – Anti-Cybercrime Unit of Cagayan Valley, cited restrictions in RA 10175 as one of the challenges they are facing in investigating the February ambush of Aparri Vice Mayor Rommel Alameda and five others.

“We applied for warrant to disclose computer data doon sa number ni Mayor Chan based sa affidavit ni Mrs. Alameda. However, noong una, sinagot ng (telecommunications firm) Globe na they don’t have the equipment to save ‘yung traffic data. Pero nung inamend ‘yung warrant, nag-reapply kami Sir, nag-submit naman ‘yung Globe pero walang (on the number of Mayor Chan based on the affidavit of Mrs. Alameda. However, at first, Globe responded saying they don’t have the equipment to save traffic data. But when we amended the warrant and reapplied, Globe submitted but there was no) content, sir,” Luyun told the committee.

Alameda and his companions were gunned down in Purok 5, Sitio Kinakao, Baretbet, Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya on Feb. 19.

Aparri Mayor Bryan Chan is among the persons of interest.

Section 14 of RA 10175 states that “law enforcement authorities, upon securing a court warrant, shall issue an order requiring any person or service provider to disclose or submit, within 72 hours from receipt of such order, subscriber’s information, traffic data or relevant data in his/its possession or control, in relation to a valid complaint officially docketed and assigned for investigation by law enforcement authorities, and the disclosure of which is necessary and relevant for the purpose of investigation.”

Traffic data or non-content data refer to any computer data other than the content of the communication, including, but not limited to the communication’s origin, destination, route, time, date, size, duration, or type of underlying service.

“So maybe i-amend natin ‘yang batas na ‘yan na pagdating sa investigation ng isang krimen ay dapat obligado ang service provider like Globe to disclose to the investigating agencies ‘yung contents ng kanilang (we will amend that law when it comes to the investigation of a crime, service providers like Globe should be required to disclose to the investigating agencies the contents of their) cellphone,” dela Rosa said.