SIM registration period extended

DAVAO CITY – Following the low turnout of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) registration, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) announced a 90-day extension.

 

It said for still unregistered SIMs during the 90-day extended registration period, the Department is reviewing the phased implementation of one or a combination of the following: barring access to value-added services, disallowing outgoing calls, and/ or the extension of the reactivation period for deactivated SIMs. 

“The foregoing measures shall be the subject of an amendment to the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 11934 and shall be implemented pursuant to applicable laws, rules and regulations. The technical capacity and capability of the country’s three public telecommunication entities (PTEs) to execute the proposed measures will also be considered,” the DICT said. 

With the extension of the registration period, the DICT urged the PTEs to recalibrate their strategies to increase the number of registrants. Also, the DICT said it will assist PTEs and government counterparts in addressing concerns on the identification requirement for SIM registration. 

The DICT and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) will intensify the rollout of programs to help those in the marginalized sectors and those who live in unserved and underserved areas of the country to register their SIMs. 

“The public is advised to follow DICT’s social media channels and website for official announcements on the implementation of the SIM Registration Act. The Department urges Filipinos to take advantage of the extended SIM registration period to promote accountability and responsibility in using SIMs and sound the death knell for cybercrimes and text scams committed by unscrupulous perpetrators,” it said. 

The low turnout was largely blamed on the slow Internet services, especially in the provinces, particularly in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, especially Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi provinces, and other far-flung areas in the country. 

Many post-paid cell phone subscribers too were not fully knowledgeable on how to register their SIMs which forced them to pay other people offering their services for a fee ranging from P50 to P100 on social media platforms, but many also fell victims to scammers. And worse, those who shared their SIMs and identification cards to unscrupulous individuals on Facebook use this modus operandi to create bogus GCash accounts without the knowledge of the victims for their scams. (Mindanao Examiner)