The government extended for 90 days the April 26 deadline on the registration of subscriber identity module (SIM).
The extension was announced by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla who attended a Cabinet Cluster meeting at Malacanang on Tuesday, April 25.
SIM registration is provided for under Republic Act no. 11934, the SIM Registration Act.
RA 11934 provides that public telecommunications entities (PTEs) should set up their respective registration platforms to onboard users who present valid identification cards.
Data from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) showed that as of April 23, only 82,845,397 SIMs have been registered. Registered SIMs represent 49.31 percent of more than 168 million holders all over the country.
SIM holders were originally given until April 26 to register or face the risk of deactivation.
"Most of the services that come with the cellphones that are not registered will be cut off with the telcos," Remulla said.
"So, there will be a social media unavailability for those who do not register," he said.
The SIM Registration Act took effect last December. The law was signed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. last October.
Earlier, Remulla had warned telecommunication companies not to take advantage of the deadline for SIM registration.
“Our eyes will be on the telcos not to take undue advantage of this. Maraming yang consequences. May mga disappearing load na naman ‘yan. Merong pera na naman sa GCash (There are many consequences. There could be disappearance of loads. There could be disappearance of money in GCash),” he cited.