SIM registration has begun. Have you registered yet?
Pursuant to Republic Act No. 11934 or the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Act, all new and existing SIM subscribers in the Philippines shall register within 180 days beginning Dec. 27, 2022.
Failure to comply with the said registration will result in the deactivation of a user’s SIM.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed the controversial measure into law on Oct. 10, 2022, aiming to make end users accountable for their usage of mobile communications.
In line with the commencement of the SIM registration on Tuesday, Dec. 27, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Spokesperson and Undersecretary Anna Mae Lamentillo disclosed that they are “anticipating difficulties” in the first few days of the registration.
“The first 15 days starting Dec. 27 is a test period. This means that registrations during this period are all valid, but we are already anticipating that there could be some difficulties because this process is new to both subscribers and the public telecommunications entities (PTEs),” said Lamentillo.
Through the so-called “test period,” the PTEs, according to Lamentillo, may assess what they need to improve their services on to make the registration process more efficient.