The House committee on dangerous drugs is set to amend Republic Act (RA) 4200 or the Anti-Wiretapping Act to exclude drug trafficking and money laundering.
Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (2nd District, Surigao del Norte), chair of the committee, said there is a need to make RA 4200 more helpful in the apprehension and prosecution of people involved in drug trafficking.
“There is a necessity to revisit the law to further enhance its effectiveness,” said Rep. Romeo Acop (2nd District, Antipolo City), chairman of the committee on public order and safety who will head the technical working group (TWG) that will harmonize various House proposals to amend RA 4200.
RA 4200 enacted on June 19, 1965 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.
Several House bills have been filed that include wiretapping or violations of RA 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 in the list of crimes exempted in RA 4200. For one, HB 3406 filed by Barbers seeks to exempt drug trafficking and other drug-related offenses from the prohibition in RA 4200.
The TWG will consolidate all bills seeking the revision of the anti-wiretapping law, particularly Section 3. (HOR-PR)
