Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday, June 16 scored the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for failing to implement provisions of the Republic Act No. 11934, or the SIM Card Registration Act, leading scammers to perpetrate various fraud and other illegal activities.
Gatchalian said the NTC ought to do its job of ensuring effective implementation of the SIM registration law as the goal of this legislation is to provide accountability for those using SIM cards for fraudulent activities and to support law enforcement in tracking perpetrators of online-related crimes.
The law’s main objective is also to reduce, if not eliminate, scams perpetrated through text or online messages.
“But because the NTC has apparently forgotten its responsibility, scammers in the POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) industry continue to use SIM cards unabatedly,” Gatchalian lamented.
One common denominator among POGOs subjected to police raids is the discovery of a significant number of SIM cards that are being used for fraud and scamming purposes, the senator noted.
The lawmaker said such is true in the case of the raids conducted against Smartweb Technology Corp. in Pasay City, Zun Yuan Technology located in Bamban, Tarlac, and Lucky South 99 which straddles Porac and Angeles City in Pampanga.
In the case of Zun Yuan, Gatchalian noted that authorities discovered SIM cards bearing false identities, along with various phones and scripts for scamming purposes.
These SIM cards were allegedly being used in undertaking love scams, cryptocurrency scams, and other investment scams. Aside from SIM cards, the raid inside the Lucky South 99 also yielded various phone devices, drugs, and torture devices.
Since the law was enacted on October 10, 2022, Gatchalian lamented that scamming activities have risen significantly, contrary to expectations.
“SIM registration is an important tool in combating online crimes that make use of a phone. The NTC should stop sleeping on its job so we can realize this goal,” said Gatchalian, one of the authors of the law.
“Hindi dapat ipagwalang-bahala ng NTC ang batas at siguraduhin na maayos ang pagpapatupad ng batas na ito ng mga telco operators (The NTC should seriously implement the law and ensure that telco operators will adhere with the law),” he stressed.