EDITORIAL ATM hackers deserve no leniency

Short of the death penalty, which is outlawed in the Philippines, life imprisonment should suffice as appropriate punishment for convicted ATM hackers. A bill to that effect has now passed second reading at the House of Representatives. It is not clear if the Senate has a counterpart bill but it ought to support the proposed measure when it comes before it.

The bill, which classifies ATM hacking as economic sabotage, deserves passage into law as soon as possible. It is a heinous crime in the sense that it preys on almost every Filipino who depends on the ATM for small-scale financial transactions. Most of those who transact through ATMs are ordinary employees and students. ATM accounts now make up the bulk of payroll disbursements and a convenient way for parents to send money to their kids in school in some other place.

Much of what ATM accounts contain is hardearned money. Many of the ordinary employees who have their pay coursed through ATM accounts seldom have any money in those accounts other than what they are paid every pay period. At every payday, they withdraw all the money because it is just enough to see them through the next pay period. Imagine how their lives can be turned upside down when they discover their accounts hacked and there is no more money inside.

The same goes with ATM accounts owned by students. They depend on this system to receive money from their parents. This money goes to their allowances and school expenses. Imagine the disruption to their schooling when a student trying to catch up on tuition payments just to be able to take an exam finds his account emptied by ATM hackers.

Because of the severity of the impact ATM hacking can have on the lives of ordinary people, it is a crime that should be treated on the same level as murder and rape. It is heinous in that sense. It is depraved and malicious. It is cruel. The thought that ATM hackers can just steal other people's money with convenience and ease makes it all the more maddening.

Robbers and thieves, to which category ATM hackers belong, are among the most despicable in the lot of criminals. That they lack any conscience in preying on the fruits of others' labor makes them undeserving of any leniency and mercy. The full brunt of what is applicable legally should be made to descend on them. That they do not find their own jobs other than the job of stealing makes them enemies of any state. They should be put away for life.