House panel okays anti-wiretapping law amendment

The bill seeks to allow law enforcers to intercept private communication involving these crimes: coup d’état; conspiracy and proposal to commit coup d’état; robbery in band; syndicated illegal recruitment; violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002; violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; and violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001. (File photo: House of Representatives of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA — The House committee on dangerous drugs has approved a substitute bill seeking to amend Republic Act (RA) 4200 or the Anti-Wiretapping Act to exclude cases of coups, drugs, robbery, and money laundering, and other crimes.

The panel, chaired by Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, approved on Tuesday the still-unnumbered substitute bill, which consolidated eight House proposals seeking the revision of the anti-wiretapping law, particularly Section 3.

The bill seeks to allow law enforcers to intercept private communication involving these crimes: coup d’état; conspiracy and proposal to commit coup d’état; robbery in band; syndicated illegal recruitment; violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002; violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; and violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001.

RA 4200 safeguards the constitutional right to privacy of communication. It prohibits and penalizes wiretapping and other related violations of the privacy of communication.

The law exempts from penalty wiretapping in cases involving the crimes of treason, espionage, provoking war and disloyalty in case of war, piracy, mutiny in the high seas, rebellion, conspiracy and proposal to commit rebellion, inciting to rebellion, sedition, conspiracy to commit sedition, inciting to sedition, kidnapping as defined by the Revised Penal Code, and violations of Commonwealth Act No. 616, punishing espionage and other offenses against national security.