Negros Occidental 4th District Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer said it is now up to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to approve the proposed SIM Registration Act, and the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) postponement, following their passage in the House of Representatives and Senate.
Ferrer, who attended Tuesday the ceremonial signing of the bills approved in the 19th Congress, said copies of both bills have already been sent to Malacañang, for the signature of the President.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, who principally authored the SIM Registration Act, is confident that Marcos will see the urgent need to sign it into law.
The SIM Registration Act seeks to put an end to SIM-enabled text and online scams by requiring users to register their SIM cards using valid identification documents.
The BSKE Postponement Act, meanwhile, seeks to defer the election from Dec. 5, 2022 to the last Monday of October 2023.
Ferrer was among the solons, who pushed for the deferment of BSKE to next year.
The signed copies of the enrolled bills were turned over to Presidential Legislative Liaison Office Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza for approval and signature of Marcos.
Aside from Ferrer, also present during the signing were House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe, representatives Toby Tiangco (Navotas City) and Marjorie Ann Teodoro (Marikina City 1st District), Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Senate Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito, and senators Imee Marcos and Grace Poe./GB, PNA
