President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has signed on Monday, Oct.10, the mandatory SIM card registration to become a law.
According to Marcos, through the said law, it will achieve an effective way to regulate the issuance of SIM cards ‘to curb the spread of spam text messages and scams.’
“We will soon be able to provide law enforcement agencies with the tools needed to resolve crimes perpetrated with the use of these SIM cards, as well as providing a strong deterrence against the commission of wrongdoing,” Marcos said.
Under the SIM Card Registration Act, Marcos said that every public telecommunication entity or direct sellers are required to demand every end users to present valid identification document to validate their identity.
“These telecommunications entities shall also be required to maintain a SIM card register of their subscribers, containing information required under this law,” he added.
“It also mandated that they submit a verified list of their authorized dealers and agents nationwide to the National Telecommunications Commission, with updates every quarter of the year,” he continued.
To cover all SIM cards users, telecommunications have a mandate to ensure the registration of existing pre-paid SIM card phone subscribers.
Those who will fail to comply will result in automatically deactivating services to the specific SIM card subscriber.
Moreover, using of false information to register is subject to penalties and provisions in the law to protect the confidentiality and data privacy rights of subscribers.
Through the said law, Marcos lauded the lawmakers from the House of Representatives and the Senate for legislating a timely and necessary law.
“Indeed, with the signing of this law, we set the important tone that it is our national policy to ensure that technology shall only be used to improve our peoples’ lives,” he continued. —With reports from Allan Francisco & Katrina Gracia Consebido
