Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH (17) CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4702

House Bill No.

Introduced by: Hon, Jose L, Atienza, Jr.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

All over the world, incidents of cybercrime, i.e., hacking and computer
fraud have become rampant - with bank depositors, private corporations,
government offices and even governments falling victims to various scams.
These crimes are tantamount to economic sabotage ~ causing irreparable
damage to personal and company finances, as well as government economies.

Recent events in the country have shown that these scammers’ network is
getting wider and bolder. However, government's efforts to catch and prosecute
them have so far failed due to the meager fines imposed on them ~ a mere
P10,000, which enables them to go scot-free after paying the said amount.
Foreigners involved in these scams, when caught, pay the same amount then up
and leave, transferring their base of operations elsewhere.

This bill seeks to amend Section 10 of Republic Act 8484 or the Access
Devices Regulation Act of 1998, making it a non-bailable offense. This will
likewise increase the fines for this offense anywhere from P3,000,000 to
P5,000,000, instead of the present P10,000. This will make it harder for these
cyber-criminals to slip away, guaranteeing that they will be prosecuted and
made to answer for their crimes.

Party-list



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTTENTH (17'") CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 4702

Introduced by
Rep. Jose L. Atienza, Jr.

AN ACT
INCREASING THE PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF
THE PROVISIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT 8484

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Amendment — Section 10 of Republic Act 8484 otherwise known as the
“Access Devises Regulation Act of 1998” is hereby amendment to read as follows:

ction 10, Penalties — Any person committing any
of the constituting access device fraud enumerated in the
immediately preceding section shall be punished with

(a) a fine of Three Million Pesos
(P3,000,000,00) or twice the value obtained by reason of the
commission of the offense, whichever is higher, and
imprisonment for not less than twenty (20) years and not
more than thirty (30) years, in the case of offenses falling
under Section 9 (b) to (€), (g) to (i) and (k) to (p);

(b) a fine of Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000.00) or
twice the value obtained by reason of the commission of the
offense whichever is higher, and life imprisonment, in the
case of offenses falling under Section 9 (a), (f) and (j) of the
foregoing section; and

‘The accused charged for any of the crimes punished
under Section 9 (a), (f) and (j) of this Act shall not be entitled
to post bail when the evidence of guilt is strong.”

XXX



Section 2. Separability Clause. — In the event that any of the provision of this Act is
declared unconsiitutional, the remaining provisions which have not been affected by such
declaration shall remain valid and effective;

Section 3. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders, circulars, rules
and regulations and other issuances or parts thereof that are inconsistent with the provisions of
the Act is deemed repealed, amended or modified.

Section 4. Effectivity Clause, — This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days
following its complete publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved.