The Department of Justice DOJ) has reminded the public of the mandated registration of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards because the law has penal provisions for violations.
SIM card registration started on Dec. 27, 2022 under Republic Act No. No. 11934, the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act.
The DOJ, through its Office of Cybercrime (DOJ-OOC) said that prohibited acts under RA 11934 have penalties including imprisonment and fines.
In its advisory, the DOJ-OOC said that existing subscribers “must register with their respective Public Telecommunication Entity (PTE) within 180 days of the law’s effectivity.”
It said that corporations and minors also have to register.
For corporations, the DOJ-OOC said that aside from securing a certificate of registration, they should issue a “duly adopted resolution designating the authorized representative, and in the case of other judicial entities, a special power of attorney.”
For minors, it said the registration should be in the name of his or her parent or guardian.
It also said that foreigners in the country will also have to register their SIM cards and must present a passport, proof of address including hotel booking or other type of accommodation, and other petinent document including an Alien Employment Permit, an Alien Certificate of Registration, school registration, or travel admission.
Among the prohibited acts under the law are use of fictitious identities or fraudulent documents to register; sale or transfer of registered SIM without the required registration; spoofing as registered SIM; faiIure or refusal to register a SIM; sale of stolen SIM; and breach of confidentiality, intentional or due to negligence, on the part of the public telecommunication entities, the DOJ-OOC said.
Latest report from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) showed that the number of SIM card registrants in the country has breached 17 million.
But the NTC said that the number of registered SIM cards represents only 10.13 percent of the 168,977,773 existing subscribers in the Philippines.
TAGS: #DOJ-OOC #SIM card registration #NTC on SIM cards