Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS:
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No,

Introduced by BEN P. EVARDONE
Representative, Lone District, Eastern Samar

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The advances of information technology in the realm of electronic facilities has
revolutionized the way people conduct their financial and banking transactions. Today,
everyone can deposit or withdraw money from various electronic devices and media. One can
likewise purchase goods, services and anything of value, invest in different kinds of monetary
instruments and manage their financial wealth through electronic means. Indeed, man has
attained an unexpected level of speed and convenience in conducting his financial activities,

However, with the fast advancement of technology came a new way of stealing one’s
money. Criminals and criminal syndicates were able to illegally access the various electronic
medium of transactions and they were able to unlawfully appropriate to themselves the hard
earned money of others, The acts of these criminals of illegally accessing the various electronic
access devices may result to loss of hundreds of millions of money and may undermine the
trust and confidence of the people on the country’s financial system in general and on the
banking sector in particular. Account owners, traders and other customers engaged in various
electronic financial transactions who became unwilling victims of these criminals did not only
suffer inconvenience, financial losses but has also caused them to doubt the integrity of the
country’s financial system. One of the reasons of the continued perpetration of the criminal
activities described above is the existing limitations of Republic Act $484 and the relatively
light penalties that are imposed on the convicted perpetrators.

Therefore, to avert further adverse losses on the financial sector and the further
deterioration of the public trust on the electronic financial and trade sectors, immediate passage

of this bill is eamestly sought
BEN ; ‘ARDONE


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Republic of the Philippines

House of Representatives
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

‘Second Regular Session

5934

HOUSE BILL

Introduced by Representative Ben P, Evardone
Lone District, Eastern Samar

AN ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT 8484, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
"ACCESS DEVICES REGULATION ACT OF 1998”

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

SECTION 1. ~ Section 2 of Republic Act 8484 is hereby amended to read as follows

“Sec. 2. Declaration of policy. —The State recognizes the recent advances in technology
and the widespread use of access devices in commercial transactions. Toward this end, the
State shall protect the rights and define the liabilities of parties in such commercial transactions
by regulating the issuance and use of access devices

“THE STATE LIKEWISE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE ADVANCES IN
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON ACCESS DEVICES HAVE BEEN TAKEN
ADVANTAGE BY CRIMINALS AND CRIMINAL SYNDICATES _ IN
PERPETRATING FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES THAT — ULTIMATELY
UNDERMINE THE TRUST OF THE PUBLIC IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY. DUE
TO THIS DELETERIOUS EFFECT ON THE ECONOMY, THE STATE DECLARES
‘THE COMMISSION OF A CRIME USING ACCESS DEVICES AS A FORM OF
ECONOMIC SABOTAGE AND A HEINOUS CRIME WITH PENALTIES TO BE
IMPOSED UP TO THE MAXIMUM LEVEL ALLOWED BY LAW.


SECTION 2. Section 3 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Sec. 3. Definition of terms. — For purposes of this Act, the terms:

(a) Access Device — means any card, plate, code, account number, electronic serial
number, personal identification number, or other telecommunications service, equipment, or
instrumental identifier, or other means of account access that can be used to obtain money,
good, services, or any other thing of value or to initiate a transfer of funds (other than a transfer
originated solely by paper instrument);

(b) Counterfeit Access Device ~ means any access device that is counterfeit, fictitious,
altered, or forged, or an identifiable component of an access device or counterfeit access device
OR ANY FRAUDULENT COPY OR REPRODUCTION OF A VALID ACCESS
DEVICE;

(c) Unauthorized Access Device — means any access device that is stolen, lost, expired,
revoked, canceled, suspended, or obtained with intent to defraud;

(d) Access Device Fraudulently Applied for - means any access device that was applied
for or issued on account of the use of falsified document, false information, fictitious identities
and addresses, or any form of false pretense or misrepresentation;

(¢) Consumer — means a natural person;

(f) Credit Card — means any card, plate, coupon book, or other credit device existing
for the purpose of obtaining money, goods, property, labor or services or any thing of value on
credit;

(g) Device Making or Altering Equipment — means any equipment, mechanism or
impression designed or primarily used for making or altering or reencoding an access device
or a counterfeit access device,

(h) Finance Charges — represent the amount to be paid by the debtor incident to the
extension of credit such as interest or discounts, collection fees, credit investigation fees, and
other service charges;

(i) Open-end-credit plan — means a consumer credit extended on an account pursuant
to a plan under which:

1) the creditor may permit the person to make purchase or obtain loans,
from time to time, directly from the creditor or indirectly by use of credit
card, or other service;

2) the person has the privilege of paying the balance; or

3) a finance charge may be computed by the creditor from time to time on
an unpaid balance.


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(j) Penalty Charges ~ means such amount, in addition to interest, imposed on the credit
card holder for non-payment of an account within a prescribed period;

(k) Produce — includes design, alter, authenticate, duplicate or assemble;

(1) Trafficking — means transferring, or otherwise disposing of, to another, or obtaining
control of, with intent to transfer or dispose of,

(m) HACKING — REFERS TO THE UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS INTO OR
INTERFERENCE IN A COMPUTER SYSTEM/SERVER OR INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM; OR ANY ACCESS IN ORDER TO CORRUPT,
ALTER, STEAL, OR DESTROY USING A COMPUTER OR OTHER SIMILAR
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION DEVICES, WITHOUT THE
KNOWLEDGE AND CONSENT OF THE OWNER OF THE COMPUTER OR
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM, INCLUDING THE
INTRODUCTION OF COMPUTER VIRUSES AND THE LIKE, RESULTING IN THE
CORRUPTION, DESTRUCTION, ALTERATION, THEFT OR LOSS OF
ELECTRONIC DATA MESSAGES OR ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS;

(0) ATM CARD OR AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE CARD -INCLUDES
ANY CARD OF WHATEVER MATERIAL OR FORM INCLUDING ANY KIND OF
DEBIT CARD, BUT NOT A CREDIT CARD, THAT IS ISSUED BY A BANK OR
BUSINESS ENTITY WITH THE INTENTION OF ACCESSING ANY MACHINE FOR
THE DISBURSEMENT OF MONEY, LOADING ANY CREDIT TO ANY UTILITY
OR GIVING OR GRANTING ACCESS TO A CUSTOMER FOR AN AMOUNT OF
MONEY, SERVICE, GOODS OR ANYTHING OF VALUE. AN ATM CARD SHALL
BE CONSIDERED AS AN ACCESS DEVICE FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ACT;

(0) SKIMMING — A TYPE OF FRAUD WHICH OCCURS WHEN AN ATM IS.
COMPROMISED BY A SKIMMING DEVICE, A CARD READER WHICH CAN BE
DISGUISED TO LOOK LIKE A PART OF THE ATM MACHINE AND WHICH
SAVES THE USERS’ CARD NUMBER AND PIN CODE;

(p) APPLICATION — REFERS TO A COMPUTER PROGRAM DESIGNED TO
PERFORM A GROUP OF COORDINATED FUNCTIONS, TASKS, OR ACTIVITIES
FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE USER; AND

(q) ONLINE BANKING — REFERS TO THE USE OF THE INTERNET BY
BANK CUSTOMERS IN ORDER TO MANAGE THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS AND
PERFORM ACCOUNT TRANSACTIONS.”



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SECTION 3. Section 9 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Sec. 9. Prohibited Acts, ~The following acts shall constitute access device fraud and
are hereby declared to be unlawful:

(a) producing, using, trafficking in one or more counterfeit access devices;

(b) trafficking in one or more unauthorized access devices or access devices
fraudulently applied for;

(c) using, with intent to defraud, an unauthorized access device,

(d) using an access device fraudulently applied for,

(€) possessing one or more counterfeit access devices or access devices fraudulently
applied for,

({) producing, trafficking in, having control or custody of, or possessing device-making
or altering equipment without being in the business or employment, which lawfully deals with
the manufacture, issuance, or distribution of such equipment;

(g) inducing, enticing, permitting or in any manner allowing another, for consideration
or otherwise to produce, use, traffic in counterfeit access devices, unauthorized access devices
or access devices fraudulently applied for;

(h) multiple imprinting on more than one transaction record, sales slip or similar
document, thereby making it appear that the device holder has entered into a transaction other
than those which said device holder had lawfully contracted for, or submitting, without being
an affiliated merchant, an order to collect from the issuer of the access device, such extra sales
slip through an affiliated merchant who connives therewith, or, under false pretenses of being
an affiliated merchant, present for collection such sales slips, and similar documents,

(i) disclosing any information imprinted on the access device, such as, but not limited
to, the account number or name or address of the device holder, without the latter's authority
or permission;

(j) obtaining money or anything of value through the use of an access device, with intent
to defraud or with intent to gain and fleeing thereafter,

(k) having in one’s possession, without authority from the owner of the access device
or the access device company, an access device, or any material, such as slips, carbon paper,
or any other medium, on which the access device is written, printed, embossed, or otherwise
indicated;

(1) writing or causing to be written on sales slips, approval numbers from the issuer of
the access device of the fact of approval, where in fact no such approval was given, or where,
if given, what is written is deliberately different from the approval actually given;

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(m) making any alteration, without the access device holder's authority, of any amount
or other information written on the sales slip;

(n) effecting transaction, with one or more access devices issued to another person or
persons, to receive payment or any other thing of value;

(©) without the authorization of the issuer of the access device, soliciting a person for
the purpose of:

1) offering an access device; or
2) selling information regarding or an application to obtain an access
device;

(p) without the authorization of the credit card system member or its agent, causing or
arranging for another person to present to the member or its agent, for payment, one or more
evidence or records of transactions made by credit card;

(q) SKIMMING, COPYING OR COUNTERFEITING ANY CREDIT CARD,
ATM OR DEBIT CARD, AND OBTAINING ANY INFORMATION THEREIN WITH
THE INTENT OF ACCESSING THE ACCOUNT AND OPERATING THE SAME
WHETHER OR NOT CASH IS WITHDRAWN OR MONETARY INJURY IS CAUSED
BY A PERPETRATOR AGAINST THE ACCOUNT HOLDER OR THE DEPOSITARY
BANK; OR

(r) POSSESSION OF ANY TYPE OF SKIMMING DEVICE OR ANY
ELECTRONIC GADGET OR EQUIPMENT THAT IS USED TO PERPETRATE ANY
OF THE FOREGOING ACTS.

(s) ACCESSING, WITH OR WITHOUT AUTHORITY, ANY APPLICATION,
ONLINE BANKING ACCOUNT, CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT, ATM ACCOUNT,
DEBIT CARD ACCOUNT, IN A FRAUDULENT MANNER, REGARDLESS OF
WHETHER OR NOT IT WILL RESULT IN MONETARY LOSS TO THE ACCOUNT
HOLDER.”

SECTION 4. Section 10 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:
“Sec. 10, Penalties. — Any person committing any of the acts constituting access device
fraud enumerated in the immediately preceding section shall be punished with



(a) IMPRISONMENT FOR NOT LESS THAN TWELVE (12) YEARS AND NOT
MORE THAN TWENTY (20) YEARS AND A FINE TWICE THE EQUIVALENT OF
THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF ALL AFFECTED OR EXPOSED BANK
ACCOUNTS, BUT THE FINE SHALL NOT BE LESS THAN FIVE HUNDRED
THOUSAND PESOS (P500,000,00), IN THE CASE OF AN OFFENDER WHO IS IN
POSSESSION OF TEN (10) OR MORE COUNTERFEIT ACCESS DEVICES AND/OR
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DEVICES AND WAS ABLE TO ACCESS AT LEAST
ONE (1) ACCOUNT OR HAD GAINED CREDIT BY THE FRAUDULENT USE OF
ANY OF SUCH ACCESS DEVICE IN HIS POSSESSION;

(b) IMPRISONMENT FOR NOT LESS THAN SIX (6) YEARS AND NOT
MORE THAN TWELVE (12) YEARS AND A FINE OF THREE HUNDRED
THOUSAND PESOS (P300,000.00) OR TWICE THE EQUIVALENT OF THE
AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF ALL AFFECTED OR EXPOSED BANK ACCOUNTS,
WHICHEVER IS HIGHER, IN THE CASE OF AN OFFENDER WHO IS IN
POSSESSION OF TEN (10) OR MORE COUNTERFEIT ACCESS DEVICES AND/OR
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DEVICES BUT WAS NOT PROVEN TO HAVE
ACCESSED ANY ACCOUNT OR HAVE GAINED ANY CREDIT THROUGH ANY
OF THE ACCESS DEVICES IN HIS POSSESSION;

(c) IMPRISONMENT FOR NOT LESS THAN FOUR (4) YEARS AND NOT
MORE THAN SIX (6) YEARS AND A FINE OF TWICE THE VALUE OF THE
FRAUDULENTLY OBTAINED CREDIT, WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO THE CIVIL
LIABILITY OF THE OFFENDER, IN THE CASE OF AN OFFENSE INVOLVING
FRAUDULENT USE OF A CREDIT CARD;

(d) IMPRISONMENT FOR NOT LESS THAN SIX (6) YEARS AND NOT
MORE THAN TEN (10) YEARS, AND A FINE OF FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND
PESOS (P500,000.00) OR TWICE THE VALUE OBTAINED BY THE OFFENDER,

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WHICHEVER IS HIGHER, WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO THE CIVIL LIABILITY OF
THE OFFENDER, IN THE CASE OF AN OFFENSE UNDER SECTION 9 (B), (C), (D),
(E), (G), CH), (, (Dy CK), (L), (MD, (N), (0), (P), (R) AND (S), WHICH DOES NOT
OCCUR AFTER A CONVICTION FOR ANOTHER OFFENSE UNDER SECTION 9;
(©) IMPRISONMENT FOR NOT LESS THAN TEN (10) YEARS AND NOT
MORE THAN TWELVE (12) YEARS, AND A FINE OF FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND
PESOS (P500,000.00) OR TWICE THE VALUE OBTAINED BY THE OFFENDER,
WHICHEVER IS HIGHER, WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO CIVIL LIABILITY OF THE
OFFENDER, IN THE CASE OF AN OFFENSE UNDER SECTION 9 (A), (F), AND (Q),
WHICH DOES NOT OCCUR AFTER A CONVICTION FOR ANOTHER OFFENSE
UNDER SECTION 9;
(f) IMPRISONMENT FOR NOT LESS THAN TWELVE (12) YEARS AND NOT
MORE THAN TWENTY (20) YEARS, AND A FINE OF EIGHT HUNDRED
THOUSAND PESOS (P800,000.00) OR TWICE THE VALUE OBTAINED BY THE
OFFENDER, WHICHEVER IS HIGHER, WITHOUT PREJUDICE TO CIVIL
LIABILITY OF THE OFFENDER, IN THE CASE OF ANY OFFENSE UNDER
SECTION 9, WHICH OCCURS AFTER A CONVICTION FOR ANOTHER OFFENSE
UNDER SAID SUBSECTION, OR AN ATTEMPT TO COMMIT THE SAME; AND
(g) THE PENALTY OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT AND A FINE OF NOT LESS
‘THAN ONE MILLION PESOS (P?1,000,000.00) NOR MORE THAN FIVE MILLION
PESOS (P5,000,000.00) SHALL. BE IMPOSED UPON AN OFFENSE INVOLVING
ECONOMIC SABOTAGE.
THERE IS ECONOMIC SABOTAGE:
(1) IF ANY OF THE PROHIBITED ACTS IN SECTION 9 INVOLVE
HACKING OF A BANK SYSTEM; OR

(2) IF THE SKIMMING AFFECTED FIFTY (50) OR MORE ATM CARDS;
OR

(C) IF THE OFFENSE UNDER SECTION 9 (s) AFFECTED FIFTY (50) OR
MORE ONLINE BANKING ACCOUNTS, CREDIT CARDS, ATM
CARDS, AND DEBIT CARDS.”

SECTION 5. ALIENS, NON RESIDENT FILIPINOS AND OFFENDERS WITH
ATTEMPT OR CAPACITY TO ABSCOND. ~ ALIENS, NON RESIDENT FILIPINOS OR


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FILIPINO OFFENDERS WHO HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ABSCOND OR HAD
ATTEMPTED TO ABSCOND SHALL NOT BE ALLOWED TO POST BAIL.

SECTION 6. Separability clause. — If any separable provision of this Act be declared
unconstitutional, the remaining provisions shall continue to be in force.

SECTION 7. Repealing clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended
or modified accordingly

SECTION 8. Effectivity clause, — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation,

Approved,