Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
3376

House Bill No. ___©*

Introduced by Representatives Mariano Michael M)Velarde Jr. and William Irwin
ieng (BUHAY Party List)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have revolutionized the
lifestyle of most Filipinos. Computers and the intemet have evolved into a versatile
instrument in modern society. Computer networks have become essential in maintaining and
operating vital infrastructures. The I CT has opened up an endless spectrum of possibilities
both in terms of communication and commerce. It has enabled linkages among individuals
and organizations in doing business. ICT enhances and promotes efficiency in facilitating the
exchange and delivery of information. The introduction of computers and computer networks
facilitated faster and better data storage, information exchange and communications,
‘Computers also helped improve banking, telecommunications, engineering and data handling

It is sad to note, however, that despite the advances that were achieved in the field of
ICT, new breed of deviants, new forms of criminals and criminal activities arose such as
unauthorized acquisition of vital and/or confidential information by third parties seeking to
profit or benefit from the utilization of such information. With the development of new forms
of crimes, cybercrime legislation must be an immediate concern of Congress. It is clear,
however, that even with existing Philippine laws, there still exists a need to provide a
comprehensive policy framework that would set regulations on cybercrimes. There is a need
for the Philippines to have a law that will define cybercrimes, identify punishable acts
involving computers with corresponding penalties, determine legal procedures for the
investigation and prosecution of cybercrimes, clarify jurisdictions, provide for a clause on
mutual assistance and cooperation, and identify a local body that shall be responsible for
providing assistance to local and foreign entities in the resolution of cybercrime cases.

It is hoped that through the passage of this bill, cybercriminals will be discouraged
from indulging and engaging in illegal acts. Moreover, the passage of this bill will send a
clear signal to the International community that our country is serious in combating, and does
not tolerate, cyber crimes.

“view ane” immediate passage of t

lon. waked Michael M. Velarde Jr. |. William Irwin Tiel


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No,_ 9378

Introduced by Representatives
Hon. Mariano Michael M. Velarde Jr. and Hon. William Irwin Tieng
(BUHAY Party List)

AN ACT DEFINING CYBERCRIME, PROVIDING FOR PREVENTION,
SUPPRESSION AND IMPOSITION OF PENALTIES THEREFOR AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES.

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

CHAPTER I - PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS.
SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2010".

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State recognizes the vital role of information and
content industries, such as telecommunications, broadcasting, electronic commerce, and data
processing, in the nation's overall social and economic development. The State also
recognizes the importance of providing an environment conducive to the development,
acceleration, and rational application and exploitation of information and communications
technology to attain free, easy, and intelligible access to exchange and/ or delivery of
information; and the need to protect and safeguard the integrity of computer, computer and
communication systems, networks, and databases, and the confidentiality, integrity, and
availability of information and data stored therein, from all forms of misuse, abuse, and
illegal access by making punishable under the law such conduct or conducts. In this light, the
State shall adopt sufficient powers to effectively prevent and combat such offenses by
facilitating their detection, investigation, and prosecution at both the domestic and
international levels and by providing arrangements for fast and reliable international
cooperation,

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms are hereby
defined as follows:

@) Access - refers to the instruction, communication with, storing data in, retrieving data
from, or otherwise making use of any resources of a computer, computer and
communications network, or database;

b) Alteration - refers to the modification or change, in form or substance, of an existing
computer data or program;

2i


c) Communication - refers to the transmission of information, including voice and non-voice
data;

4) Computer - refers to any device or apparatus which by electronic, electro-mechanical or
magnetic impulse, or by other means, is capable of receiving, recording, transmitting, storing,
processing, retrieving, or producing information, data, figures, symbols, or other modes of
expression according to mathematical and logical rules of performing any one or more of
those functions, including its associated devices and peripherals;

e) Computer Data - refers to any representation of facts, information, or concepts in a form
suitable for processing in a computer system, including a program suitable to cause a
computer system to perform a function;

f) Computers and Communications Network or Networks - refer to:

ia group of computers, associated devices, and/or its peripherals that are connected
either permanently or temporarily, wired or wireless, by transmission and/or
communications facilities which facilitate and/or provide the means of sending,
communicating, processing and/or transmitting voice and/or non-voice data and/or
information electronically; or

group of interconnected or related devices, including, but not limited to, a group
of interconnected computers, private exchange branch (PBX) wired or wireless,
telecommunications switching equipment, one or more of which, pursuant to a
program, perform automatic processing of data;

g) Computer Program - refers to a set of instructions executed by the computer to achieve
intended results;

h) Conduct Without Right - refers to either: (1) conduct undertaken without or in excess of
authority; or (2) conduct not covered by established legal defenses, excuses, court orders,
justifications, or relevant principles under the law;

i) Cybercrime - refers to any offense that can be committed by using a computer or
communications system or network in a computer or communications system or network
against a computer or communications system or network;

i) Cybersex or Virtual Sex - refers to any form of sexual activity or arousal with the aid of
computers or communications network;

k) Damage - in the general sense, refers to damage or injury as defined under the applicable
laws, including, but not limited to, the relevant provision of the Civil Code of the Philippines,
In the limited sense, it means any impairment to the integrity or availability of a computer
data, program, system information, or network:

With respect to computer data or programs as used in this Act, the words "damaging" and

“deteriorating” are synonymous;


1) Database - refers to a representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts, or
instructions which are being prepared or processed or have been prepared or processed in a
formalized manner and which are intended for use in a computer, computer and
communications network, computer server, or database;

m) Deletion - refers to the destruction or impairment of information or data contained in a
computer or computer and communications network by making them unrecognizable or by
totally or partially obliterating the information or data from the computer or computer
network;

n) Distribution - refers to the active dissemination of data, information or material using the
computer and/or communications computer network;

0) Electronic Data Message - refers to information generated, sent, received, or stored by
electronic, optical, or similar means;

p) Electronic Document - refers to the information or the representation of information,
data, figures, symbols, or other modes or written expression, described or however
represented, by which a right is established or an obligation extinguished, or by which a fact
may be proved and affirmed, which is received, recorded, transmitted, stored, processed,
retrieved, or produced in and through computer and/or computer and communications
networks;

q) Interception - refers to listening to, recording, monitoring or surveillance of the content of
communications, including producing of the content of data, either directly, through access
and use of the computer or computer and communications network or indirectly, through the
use of electronic eavesdropping or tapping devices, at the same time that the communication
is occurring;

r) Making available - refers to the placing of internet or online devices, including but not
limited to, the creation or compilation of hyperlinks in order to facilitate access to such
devices, for the use of others;

s) Minor - refers to a person below eighteen (18) years of age or those beyond eighteen (18)
years of age but whose mental capacity is that of a person below eighteen (18) years of age;

1) Non-Public Transmission - refers to the transmission of information or computer data
between computer or computer and communications networks that are not configured for
public access;

u) Procuring Data or Material - refers to the act of actively obtaining data, information or
material by downloading the same from a computer or computer and communications
network;

y) Protected Computers - refer to any computer exclusively for the use of a financial
institution or the government, or in the case of a computer not exclusively for use, used by or
for a financial institution or the government, and the conduct constituting the offenses affects
that use by or for the financial institution or the government;


w) Protected Works - refer to works, including but not limited to computer programs,
systems, and design, protected under applicable Philippine laws;

x) Service Provider - refers to the provider of:

i. telecommunications and internet or online services or network access, or the
operator of communications and network facilities therefor, including entities
offering the transmission, routing, or providing of connections for intemet or
online communications, digital or otherwise, between or among points specified
by a user, of electronic documents of the user's choosing; or

ji, any other entity that processes or stores information on behalf of such
‘communication service or users of such service;

y) Subscriber's Information - refers to any information contained in the form of computer
data or any other form that is held by a service provider, relating to the subscribers of its
services other than traffic or content data and by which can be established:

i. the type of communication service used, the technical provisions taken thereto and
the period of service.

ii. the subscriber's identity, postal or geographic address, telephone and other access
number, any assigned network address, billing and payment information, available
on the basis of the service agreement or arrangement;

z) Suppression of Computer Data - refers to any action that prevents or terminates the
availability of the data to the person who has access to the computer or computer and
communications network on which it was stored;

aa) By Technical Means - refers to the use of technical devices which are fixed to
transmission lines, as well as devices such as software, passwords, and codes to collect and/or
record wireless communications or.those communications passing through, or generated by
computer or computer and communications networks;

bb) Traffic Data or Non-Content Data - refers 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, among others.

CHAPTER I - PUNISHABLE ACTS,

The following acts constitute the offense of cybercrime punishable under this Act:

A, Computer Crime - any act committed by means of electronic operations that targets the
security of computer or communications systems or network and the data processed by them such
as but not limited to:

1. Mlegal Access ~ The access to the whole or any part of a computer or communications
system or computer or communications network without right or authority.

2. Mlegal Interception - The interception made by technical means without right of any
non-public transmission of computer or communication data to, from, or within a

Lon)


computer or communication network, including electromagnetic emissions from a
computer or communication network carrying such computer data: Provided,
however, That it shall not be unlawful for an officer, employee, or agent of a service
provider, whose facilities are used in the transmission of communications, to intercept,
disclose, or use that communication in the normal course of his employment while
engaged in any activity that is necessary to the rendition of his service or to the
protection of the rights or property of the service provider, except that the latter shall
not utilize service observing or random monitoring except for mechanical or service
control quality checks: Provided, further, That it shall not be unlawful for a person to
intercept or record a communication where there is no reasonable expectation of
privacy

Misuse of Devices -

a The use, production, sale, procurement, importation, distribution, or otherwise
making available, without right, of: (1) a device, including a computer program,
designed or adapted primarily for the purpose of committing any of the offenses
under Section 4.1 to 4.4 hereof, or (2) a computer password, access code, or similar
data by which the whole or any part of a computer or computer network is capable
of being accessed:

b. The possession of an item referred to in paragraphs (a) (1) or (2) above with intent
to use said devices for the purpose of committing any of the offenses under Section
4.1 to 4.4 hereof Provided, That no criminal liability shall attach when the use,
production, sale, procurement, importation, distribution, or otherwise making
available, or possession of computer devices data referred to in paragraph 3(a)
herein is for: (1) the authorized testing of a computer, computer network, or
computer program; or (2) purely academic purposes: Provided, however, That in
any event, before such devices are used on a computer or computer network, the
prior consent of the owner of the computer or computer network is obtained.

Unsolicited Commercial Communications - The transmission of electronic
messages with the use of computers, computer networks, or other communication
devices which seek to advertise, sell or offer for sale products and services are
prohibited unless

a. There is prior affirmative consent from the recipient; or
b. The following conditions are present:
i. The commercial electronic communication contains a simple, valid, and
reliable way for the recipient to reject receipt of further commercial electronic

messages (also known as “opt-out”) from the same source:

ii, The commercial eléctronic communication does not purposely disguise the
source of the electronic message; and

iii The commercial electronic communication does not purposely include
misleading information in any part of the message in order to induce the
recipients to read message.


B. Computer Sabotage - the input, alteration, erasure or suppression of computer or
communication data or computer or communication programs, or interference with computer
and communication system or network, with the intent to hinder the functioning of a
computer or communication system or network such as but not limited to:

1. Data Interference - the intentional or reckless damaging, deletion, deterioration,
alteration or suppression of computer data, electronic document, or electronic data
message, without right, including the introduction or transmission of viruses

2. System Interference - the alteration, or reckless hindering or interference with the
functioning of a computer or computer network by inputting, transmitting,
damaging, deleting, deteriorating, altering, or suppressing computer data or
program, electronic document, or electronic data message, without right or
authority, including the introduction or transmission of viruses.

3. Computer Fraud - the intentional and unauthorized input, alteration, erasure or
suppression of computer data or program, electronic document, or electronic data
message, or interference in the functioning of a computer or computer network,
causing damage thereby, with the intent of procuring an economic benefit for
oneself or for another person or for the perpetuation of a fraudulent or dishonest
activity.

4. Computer Forgery - the input, alteration, erasure, or suppression of any computer
or communication data, computer or communication program, electronic
document, or electronic data message, or interference with the computer and
communication system or network, in a manner or under such conditions that
would constitute the offense of forgery under Act No. 3815, as amended,
otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code or special laws; the act of knowingly
using a computer and communication data which are the products of computer or
communication forgery as defined herein, for the purpose of perpetuating a
fraudulent or dishonest design.

C. Computer Facilitated Crime - an act where the computer or communication system or
network is used as a tool or instrument or is illegally accessed to facilitate the commission of
crimes and offenses to include, but not limited to, the following:

|. Offenses Related to Cybersex - Without prejudice to the prosecution under
Republic Act No. 9208, otherwise known as the “Anti-Trafficking Act” and
Republic Act No. 7610, otherwise known as the “Child Protection Act”, any person
who in any manner advertises, promotes, or facilitates the commission of cybersex
through the use of information and communications technology such as, but not
limited to, computers, computer networks, internet, television, satellite, mobile

telephone, or any person committing any of the following acts is liable under this
Act:

a. Producing child pornography for the purpose of distribution through a computer
or computer network;

b. Offering or making available child pornography through a computer or computer
network; or



¢. Distribution or transmitting child pomography through a computer or computer
network;

Possessing child pornography materials in the computer or computer
communications system or network or on a computer data storage medium;

e. Prostitution or solicitation of any form of cybersex for any favor or monetary
consideration:

£ Operation of internet cafe or any type of establishment which engages in any
form of cybersex for any favor or monetary consideration; and

g. Promotion and advertisement of any form of cybersex

For purposes of this Section, the term "child pornography" shall include
pornographic material that visually depicts: (a) a minor engaged in sexually
explicit conduct; or (b) a person appearing to be a minor engaged in sexually
explicit conduct. The term “prostitution” shall refer to any act, transaction, scheme
or design involving the use of a person by another, for sexual intercourse or
lascivious conduct in exchange for money, profit or any other consideration.

2. Violations of the Revised Penal Code. the Intellectual Property Code. the
Consumer Act und Other Relevant Laws - Violations of Act No. 3815, as amended,
otherwise known as the “Revised Penal Code”, Republic Act No. $293 otherwise
known as the “Intellectual Property Code”, Republic Act No. 7394 otherwise
known as the “Consumer Act”, Republic Act No. 9208 otherwise known as the
“Anti-Trafficking Act”, Republic Act No. 4200 otherwise known as the “Anti
Wiretapping Act” and other relevant and pertinent laws through the use of, aided
by, involving computers or computer and communications network or through
transactions covered by or using electronic documents or electronic data messages
shall likewise be punishable and prosecuted under those laws with the appropriate
maximum penalties.

CHAPTER Ill - PENALTIES

SEC. 5. Penalties. - Any person found guilty of any of the punishable acts enumerated in
Section 44 (1), (2), and (3) and 4B (1) up to (4) of this Act shall be punished with a fine of at
least One Hundred Thousand Pesos (PhP 100,000.00) up to a maximum amount
commensurate to the damage incurred and a mandatory imprisonment of prision may

Any person found guilty of any of the punishable acts enumerated in paragraph A (4) in
Section 4 of this Act shall be punished with imprisonment of prision correccional or a fine of
at least one hundred thousand pesos (PhP 100,000.00) but not exceeding six hundred
thousand pesos (PhP 600,000.00) or both fine and imprisonment.

Any person found guilty of any of the punishable acts enumerated in paragraphs C(I) and
C(2) in Section 4 of this Act shall be punished with a fine of at least Two Hundred Thousand
Pesos (PhP 200,000.00) but not exceeding Eight Hundred Thousand Pesos (PhP 800,000.00)

'Q.


and a mandatory imprisonment of prision mayor: Provided, That the maximum penalty shall
be imposed for offenses-

a) whereby information that has been determined by the Philippine government
pursuant to law, executive order, or other issuance to be confidential is
communicated, delivered or transmitted to any person not authorized to receive it;
and

b) whereby the offender accesses without authorization any non-public computer of a
department or agency of the Philippines.

In case the offender does not own or possess enough property to satisfy the abovementioned
fine, he shall be subjected to a subsidiary penalty of imprisonment in accordance with the
rules set forth in Article 39 of Act No. 3185, as amended, otherwise known as the “Revised
Penal Code.”

SEC. 6. Corporate Liability. - When any of the punishable acts herein defined is knowingly
committed in behalf and for the benefit of a juridical person, the penalties herein provided
shall be imposed upon the juridical person's partners, President, Secretary, members of the
Board of Directors, or any of its officers and employees who have directly participated in,
including those who knowingly authorized, the commission of the said act or acts. Where the
commission of any of the punishable acts herein defined by the juridical person's employees
or agents, acting within the scope of their authority, was made possible due to the lack of
supervision and control of the juridical person, which resulted in benefits for the said entity,
the officers and members of the Board of Directors or of the partnership, as the case may be,
are likewise liable

SEC. 7. Conspiracy to Commit Cybercrime. - When two (2) or more persons come to an
agreement and decide to commit any of the punishable acts defined in this Act, and one or
more

of such persons does any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the conspirators
shall

be punished as if all of the conspirators have done the act themselves.

SEC. 8. Aiding or Abetting in the Commission of Cybercrime. - Any person who wilfully
abet or aid in the commission of any of the offenses enumerated in Chapter II hereof shall be
held liable under this Act

CHAPTER IV-COMPUTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE COUNCIL

SEC. 9. Computer Emergency Response Council. - There is hereby created, thirty (30) days
from the effectivity of this Act, a Computer Emergency Response Council, hereinafter
referred to as CERC, under the control and supervision of the Office of the President

principally to formulate and implement a national plan of action to address and combat cyber-
crime.

SEC. 10. Composition. - The CERC shall be headed by the Chairman of the Commission on
Information and Communications Technology (CICT) as Chairman; the Director of the
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) as Vice-Chairman and the following as members


Director-General of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Chief of the National
Prosecution

Service (NPS), the Head of the National Computer Center (NCC), the head of the Philippine
Center for Transnational Crime (PCTC), the head of the Anti-fraud and Computer Crimes
Division (AFCCD) of the NBI and the head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection
Grow

(cine) of the PNP and three (3) representatives from the private sector involved in
information

36 security to be appointed by the President of the Philippines.

SEC. 11. CERC Secretariat. - The CERC shall be manned by a Secretariat, the personnel of
which shall come from the CICT and selected personnel and representatives who shall be detailed
from the participating agencies. An Executive Director shall be appointed by the Chairman of the
CICT to head the secretariat.

SEC. 12. Powers and Functions. - The CERC shall have the following powers and functions:

1) To prepare and implement appropriate and effective measures to prevent and suppress
computer fraud, abuses and other eyber-related fraudulent activities as provided in this Act;

b) To monitor the investigation of cybercrime cases being handled by participating law
enforcement and prosecution agencies, initiate international cooperation on intelligence,
investigations, training and capacity building relative to cybercrime prevention, suppression, and
prosecution;

c) To recommend the attendance of qualified personnel in trainings, conferences and other fora
on information security and cybercrime prevention, investigation and suppression;

4d) To coordinate the support and participation of the business sector, local government units, and
non-governmental organizations in cybercrime prevention programs and other related projects;

¢) To recommend the enactment of appropriate laws, issuances, measures and policies;

f) To call upon any government agency to render assis
mandated tasks and functions; and

ince in the accomplishment of the CERC’s

8) To perform such other functions and duties necessary for the proper implementation of this
Act.

CHAPTER V- ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION
SEC, 13. Collection of Computer Data. - To eftectively implement and enforce the provisions

of this Act, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the CIDG of the Philippine National
Police (PNP), subject to existing laws and procedures, shall require a person or service provider:

a) To submit specified computer data and other relevant data in his/ its possession and
control, which is stored in a computer, computer and communications network, or a
computer-data storage medium:

b) To submit subscriber information in his/its possession or control;

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©) Within his/its existing technical capability, to collect or record through the
application of technical means or to cooperate and assist the proper law
enforcement officers or agencies in the collection or recording of traffic data and
interception of specified communications transmitted within or passing through the
territorial jurisdiction of the Philippines by means of a computer and
communications network; and

d) To require the expeditious production or disclosure of traffic data to identify the
service providers and the path through which the communication was transmitted.

SEC. 14, Search and Seizure of Computer Data. - Where a search and seizure warrant is
properly issued, the NBI and the PNP shall likewise have the following powers and duties:

a) Within the time period specified in the warrant, to conduct interception, as defined
in this Act, content of communications, procure the content of data either directly,
through access and use of the computer or computer and communications network,
or indirectly, through the use of electronic eavesdropping or tapping devices, in
real time or at the same time that the communication is occurring;

b) To secure a computer or computer and communications network or parts of it or a
computer-data storage medium;

c) To make and retain a copy of those computer data secured;
d) To maintain the integrity of the relevant stored computer data; and

¢) To render inaccessible, or remove those computer data in the accessed computer or
computer and communications network.

Pursuant thereof, the NBI and CIDG of the PNP may order any person who has knowledge
about

the functioning of the computer or computer and communications network and the measures
to

protect and preserve the computer data therein to provide, as is reasonable, the necessary
information, to enable the undertaking of the search and seizure measure referred to in
paragraph

(c) of Section 17 hereof.

SEC. 15. Preservation and Disclosure of Computer Data and Traffic Record. — The
integrity of traffic data and subscriber information relating to communication services
provided by a service provider shall be preserved up to a minimum period of six (6) months
from the date of the transaction. Said period may be extended by order of the NBI or PNP
upon a reasonable belief that the computer data may have been used for in connection with,
or the traffic record may contain information as regards any violation of this Act.

CHAPTER VI - JURISDICTION
SEC. 16. Jurisdiction. - The Regional Trial Court shall have jurisdiction over any violation

of the provisions of this Act committed within the territory of the Philippines or by any of its
nationals regardless of the place of commission. In case any of the offenses herein defined is

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committed outside the territorial limits of the Philippines, and by such commission any
damage is caused to a computer or computer and communications network situated in the
Philippines, or to a natural or juridical person who, at the time the offense was committed, is
in the Philippines, the proper Regional Trial Court in the Philippines shall have jurisdiction

CHAPTER VII - INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

SEC. 17, Mutual Assistance and Cooperation. - The Government of the Philippines shall
cooperate with, and render assistance to other nations for purposes of detection, investigation,
and prosecution of offenses referred to in Sections 7 and 22 of this Act and in the collection
of evidence in electronic form in relation thereto.

The requesting country must maintain the confidentiality of the fact or the subject of request
for assistance and cooperation. It may only use the requested information subject to the
conditions specified in the grant.

SEC. 18. Grounds for Refusal to Cooperate. - The Government of the Philippines shall have
the right to refuse cooperation under any of the following grounds:

a) The offense is punishable under Philippine laws and the Philippine courts have
acquired jurisdiction over the person of the accused;

b) The information requested is privileged, protected under Philippine laws, or that
which affects national security;

c) If, for any reason, the production of the information is unreasonable;

d) The foreign government requesting for assistance has previously refused without
justifiable reason, a similar request by the Government of the Philippines; and

©) The foreign government requesting for assistance has previously breached an
agreement to keep the fact or subject of request confidential, or has previously
violated any condition of the grant

SEC. 19. Cooperation Based on Reciprocity. - In the absence of a treaty or agreement,
mutual assistance and cooperation under the preceding sections under this Chapter shall be
based on the principle of reciprocity.

SEC. 20. Communications Center. - The National Computer Center (NCC) shall be
responsible for sending and answering requests for mutual assistance as well as the execution of
such requests or their transmission to the proper authorities for implementation and enforcement.

CHAPTER VIII - OTHER PROVISIONS
SEC. 21. Liability Under the Revised Penal Code and Other Laws. - A prosecution under

this Act shall be without prejudice to any liability for violation of any provision of Act 3185, as
amended, otherwise known as the “Revised Penal Code” or any other law.

2


SEC. 22. Other Remedies, - Any person who suffers damage or loss by reason of a violation of
this Act may maintain a separate and independent civil action against the violator to obtain
compensatory damages, injunctive and/or other equitable relief

‘CHAPTER IX - FINAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 23. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the implementation of this Act shall be
charged against the appropriations of the CICT, NBI, PNP and the NCC.

SEC. 24, Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall jointly formulate the necessary rules
and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 25, Public Information Campaign. - The Office of the President, National Computer
Center, Department of Education, Department of Justice, Department of Trade and Industry,
Department of Transportation and Communications, and the National Computer Center shall, in
coordination with the Philippine Information Agency, undertake a public information campaign
to educate the general public on the salient provisions and implications of this Act.

SEC. 26. Suppletory Application. - This Act shall have suppletory application to the
provisions of the Revised Penal Code, RA 7610 and RA 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons
Act.

SEC. 27. Separability Clause. - \f any provision of this Act is held invalid, the other provisions
not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 28. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, or rules inconsistent with this Act are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly, Specifically, Section 33 of Republic Act No, 8792 or the
“Electronic Commerce Act” is hereby modified accordingly,

SEC. 29. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after the completion of its
publication in the Official Gazette orin at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation,

\®

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