Manila, Nov. 3 -- Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday asked the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and other government agencies to intensify their campaign against scammers.

In a statement, Gatchalian cited the need for the government to crack down on the rampant sale of pre-registered SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards, warning that these are being widely used for financial crimes and online scams, especially with the holiday season approaching when scammers are expected to prey on more victims.

"I am calling on the NTC and DICT to use everything in their power to compel the telcos to come up with mechanisms that would identify the subscribers. You need...