Less than a month before the July 25 extended deadline, some 100,263,627 SIMs, or 60 percent of SIMs circulating nationwide, has been registered, according to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
Smart Communications Inc. registered the most number, with 47,369,051 SIMs total, followed by. Globe Telecom Inc., with 45,959,017 SIMs and DITO Telecommunity Corp., with 6,935,559 SIMs.
The July 25 deadline will be the last extension for SIM registration, according to Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John Uy.
The original deadline for SIM registration was April 26, 2023. However, due to the low numbers registered, the government extended the process by another three months.
Now, “We're glad we have reached this number of registered SIMs," he noted. "We urge everyone to take advantage of this last extension."
The government has designated the 60 per cent mark as a soft target for SIM registration.
Once the deadline has lapsed, all unregisteted SIMs will be deactivated.
Filipinos can also register their SIMs using the eGov PH Super App, which they can download at the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, Secretary Uy pointed out.
The DICT also warned the public to be wary of both online and text scams proliferating as the final SIM registration deadline looms.
The DICT also warned the public to be wary of both online and text scams proliferating as the final SIM registration deadline looms.