SIM card registration
THE government has reported the registration of 59.55 percent of the estimated 169 million subscriber identity module (SIM) cards in the Philippines.
As of June 20, 2023, the number of SIM cards registered with the telcos in this Southeast Asian nation of more than 110 million people totaled 100,048,884.
The state-mandated registration of SIM cards ends on July 25, 2023, according to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
If you are unable to register your SIM card before the deadline, it will be deactivated permanently.
Under Republic Act (RA) No. 11934, when one’s SIM card is deactivated, he/she will no longer be able to use his/her text, call, data and other mobile services.
Otherwise known as the “SIM Card Registration Act,” the measure was signed into law by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. in October 2022.
Actually, the landmark act was the first legislative measure enacted into law during the Marcos administration, which ends at 12 noon on June 30, 2028.
Members of Congress pushed for the legislation following the spread of SPAM text messages that led to scams and the hacking of subscribers’ personal accounts.
It will be recalled that former President Rodrigo R. Duterte vetoed a similar version of the act in April 2022 due to concerns over privacy and freeom of expression rights.
Hopefully, the Filipino people heed the call of the government and the telecommunication companies to have their SIM cards registered on or before July 25.
