The mandatory SIM card registration will still end on April 26, 2023.
Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Anna Mae Lamentillo said no possible SIM Registration extensions are being considered yet, clarifying that the mandatory registration will still end on April 26.
“As we entered the second month of the SIM registration, we anticipated this lull and then a surge again once the deadline nears. That is why our information campaign has been non-stop to encourage people to register now,” said Lamentillo on Tuesday, Jan. 31.
There are still 141,628,717 unregistered SIM cards nationwide as of Jan. 30, but Lamentillo stressed that they are not expecting all subscribers in the Philippines to register.
“We expect that those SIMs which were used for cybercrimes and the like would not be registered,” she added.
'Going grassroots'
To address the “anticipated lull” in SIM Registration and to encourage Filipinos to register now, the DICT, in partnership with local chief executives in remote areas, will launch another set of facilitated SIM Registration.
“We are now going grassroots. Local chief executives are helping us with the SIM Registration, especially in cascading information dissemination efforts to the barangays,” said Lamentillo.
Based on the list provided by the National Telecommunications Commission, facilitated SIM Registration will continue in Gattaran, Cagayan on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
The initiative will also be mounted in the following areas on Thursday, Feb. 2: Bangui, Ilocos Norte; Allacapan, Cagayan; Floridablanca, Pampanga; Lemery, Batangas; Gasan, Marinduque; Bacacay, Albay; Madalag, Aklan; Oslob, Cebu; Tolosa, Leyte; Sergio Osmeña, Zamboanga Del Norte; Baungon, Bukidnon; Laak, Davao De Oro; Antipas, Cotabato; Esperanza, Agusan Del Sur; and Tublay, Benguet.
Residents living in the following remote areas may also benefit from the assisted SIM Registration on Friday, Feb. 3: Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte; Limay, Bataan; Lian, Batangas; Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro; Pilar, Sorsogon; Lemery, Iloilo; Malabuyoc, Cebu; Tanauan, Leyte; Josefina, Zamboanga Del Sur; San Fernando, Bukidnon; Kiblawan, Davao Del Sur; President Roxas, Cotabato; Bayugan, Agusan Del Sur; and Kapangan, Benguet.