The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the SIM Registration Act will be crafted by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), together with its partner agencies, within 60 days after President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. signed the measure into law on Monday, Oct, 10.
Republic Act No. 11934, also known as the SIM Registration Act, aims to make end users accountable for their usage of mobile communications by mandating SIM registration.
“Within 60 days, ang NTC po ang siyang tatapos ng IRR, but kasama po namin ang maraming opisina ng gobyerno (Within 60 days, the NTC will finish the IRR, but we will be working with many government offices),” said NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba in a televised interview over CNN Philippines on Monday, Oct. 10.
The crafting of the IRR will be under the control and supervision of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), but NTC will also be working with the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) and the National Privacy Commission (NPC).
'No privacy will be compromised'
This newly-signed law, according to Cordoba, will help resolve the ongoing problem of rampant text scams and spams which have been troubling mobile users since January 2020.
Cordoba assured Filipinos that no privacy will be breached or abused under this new measure, reiterating that NTC will work with NPC to ensure that the public’s privacy will be protected.
“Ibibigay niyo po ang inyong government-issued ID, pangalan, at tirahan, sisiguraduhin po natin na ang privacy ng ating mga subscribers ay hindi mapapakialamanan. ‘Yan po ang kabilin bilinan ng ating Pangulo – na siguraduhin na ang mga private data ay hindi makukuha ng masasamang loob (You will provide your government-issued ID, name, and address, but we will ensure that the privacy of our subscribers will not be compromised. That was the order of the President – to make sure that the private data will not be obtained by malicious people),” he furthered.