By Maria Theresia Recopuerto |
Residents get help registering their SIM cards at a mall in Baguio City last April 25, 2023. (Photo by Andy Zapata Jr., from The Philippine Star)
Last December 27, 2022, the mandatory SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card registration officially began.
The Republic Act 11934, also known as the SIM Registration Act, was signed by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on October 10, 2022, and was supposed to end by April 26, 2023.
However, as the initial deadline approaches, only 41.3% of SIM cards are officially registered, which pushed the deadline for SIM card registration to a 90-day extension until July 25, 2023.
According to the government, people who fail to register their SIM cards will be unable to use them and will lose access to their social media accounts and e-wallets, among other features.
Senator Win Gatchalian, one of the law's co-authors, stated that as long as people do not register their SIM cards, scammers will never stop scamming them.
On the contrary, the Secretary General of the Computer Professionals' Union, Kim Cantillas, believes otherwise.
Cantillas mentioned in an ANC interview that the law would not prevent the spread of text scams and could even lead to more heinous crimes.
Nonetheless, the government recognizes the significance of SIM card registration, hence the 90-day extension.
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has determined that the 90-day extension is final, and no further increases will be made.
Furthermore, Ivan John Uy, the Secretary of Information and Communications Technology (INC) stated that the government would monitor the rate of registration during the extension period.
In the meantime, the government expects 110 million active SIM cards to be registered by the end of the extension period.
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