THE government blinked on the issue of the April 26 deadline for the registration of SIM cards used in cellphones, as mandated by Republic Act 11934, the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Law. It was Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla who announced yesterday that a 90-day extension of the listing has been approved.
The telecommunication companies (telcos) are in the forefront of petitioning the government, particularly the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission to extend the 180-day SIM card registration that started on Dec. 27.
The telcos are worried because they might lose half of the business (and revenues, of course) that cellphone and internet users bring every day because of the deactivation of their SIM cards. As the first deadline neared, only 46 percent of all Smart and TNT mobile users have registered, while Globe said only half of its customers have complied with the law, and the same situation is repeated in Dito. There are 168,977,773 active mobile subscribers nationwide, according to the DICT.
‘The time-consuming hassle of updating one’s personal information with various providers is bypassed by just the simple process of online SIM card registration.’
Secretary Remulla and DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy have previously taken the adamant position that since six months have been given for subscribers to register and they failed to do so, an extension will have little incentive for them to comply.
Remulla said: “The law was there six months ago. It was really up to them (subscribers and telcos) to follow the law and there will be a lot of repercussions but the telco companies should not make it an opportunistic event. They should be fair to all.”
Despite the widespread information campaign covering the entire country and using both print, broadcast and social media, many Filipinos — even the young netizens whose lives are woven around cellphones and the internet — still waited for the last minute to list their SIM cards.
Perhaps the government’s info campaigners really failed to bring the message across that registration is very important. Sen. Grace Poe, principal author of RA 11934, said its ultimate aim is 100 percent registration and zero text scam to give our mobile users a safe and secure environment in using the technology.
Financial experts said not only would you be respecting the law but registering your SIM number is also a financially responsible decision. The SIM card number is often tied to one’s identity and is used to access online banking facilities and social media accounts conveniently and securely. The time-consuming hassle of updating one’s personal information with various providers is bypassed by just the simple process of online SIM card registration.
Let those who challenged the constitutionality of the law before the Supreme Court on the issue of privacy wait for the High Tribunal’s final say. But for now, let us follow the law and register all our SIM card numbers, for this can help protect our financial and personal information from online fraud and identity theft.
