The Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) registration process has improved and become more efficient, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Anna Mae Y. Lamentillo announced Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, during a webinar for local government units.
"During the first week of SIM registration, we received an average of 109 complaints about the process, website malfunction or not loading, and where to register. This went down to 46 during the second week," she elaborated.
"This is also because of the ongoing efforts of our public telecommunication entities (PTEs) to increase the capacity of their websites and continuously improve the process," Lamentillo added.
"We hope this would encourage those who have not yet registered their SIMs to do it now because the process is now more efficient," she reiterated.
Republic Act No. 11934, An Act Requiring the Registration of SIMs was the first law signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Prior to the enactment of this law, text scams, misinformation, and spam messages, some of which bear the name of the recipient, has surged alarmingly.
Authorities could not easily go after the perpetrators because criminals can easily buy a SIM card and get rid of it afterwards when they are done with their modus.
The SIM Registration Act aims to address all these problems, according to the DICT Undersecretary.
"This law will be our protection against fraudulent calls, scams through text messages and even mobile apps. That is why it is very important that we register all SIMs as soon as possible."
Already, an Inter-Agency Ad Hoc Committee has been organized to facilitate the registration in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs), she noted.
The DICT, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Education (DepEd), Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), other government agencies and PTEs are members of the committee.
They are finalizing the guidelines so SIM registration can be rolled out in GIDAs.
"We have also requested the DOJ to set-up a one-stop-shop in remote areas so the public can secure their NBI clearances, which they can use in registering their SIM to solve the problem of lack of valid government-issued ID," according to Lamentillo.
"We know there are also concerns on data privacy. But we want to assure the public that the SIM Registration Law is being implemented in conjunction with the Data Privacy Act."
The PTEs are responsible in ensuring that data from the SIM registration are secured, encrypted and protected at all times.
Breach of confidentiality and breach of confidentiality due to negligence is punishable under the law.