Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos is surprised with the deluge of scam and spam text messages that he has been receiving following the enactment of Republic Act (RA) No.11934 or the SIM Registration Act.
Marcos was holding a press briefing in his district office Wednesday, Nov. 30 when a local reporter asked for an update on the release of the SIM Registration Act's implementing rules and regulations or IRR.
The particular reporter observed that text scammers have stepped up their activity as of late.
"Oo nga (You're right)...I get like, ngayon, mga six or seven texts a day! I guess nalaman ng mga tao dahil parating na yung IRR, bongga na lang (I guess the people are aware of the upcoming IRR and they're being excessive). One-time, big-time," Marcos said.
The presidential son added that he'll "ask for an update" on the IRR.
"From my understanding, end of December pa yung IRR eh (the IRR will come out end of December), the implementing rules and regulations which will be provided for by the DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology)," he noted.
SIM stands for subscriber identity module. It is used to connect a mobile device such as a smart phone to a network, thus allowing for calls and text messages. RA No. 11934 is close to the neophyte solon's heart, since it's his first bill in Congress to ever become a law.
Signed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. last Oct. 10, the law's main purpose is to clamp down on text and called-based scams, which usually dangle get-rich-quick schemes to victims.
The SIM Registration Act needs an IRR for it to be implementable.