Advocacy group Konsyumer at Mamamayan urged the national government to reassess the effectivity of the Subscribers Identity Module (SIM) Registration Law in addressing cybercrimes in the country.
Konsyumer at Mamamayan secretary general Pet Climaco said the SIM Registration Law appeared to be ineffective since cases of text and online scams remain prevalent two years after it was implemented.
“It would appear that Republic Act 11934 (the SIM registration law) alone was a failure because cybercrimes are lift uncurved and, in fact, becoming aggressive with the advent of modern technologies,” said Climaco.
“Our call is to continue the conduct of assessment of the law. Just because there is already an existing law does not mean that there will be no longer assessment if it is effective or not.”
When it was still being pushed in the Congress, proponents of the SIM Card Registration was so confident that it would effectively address the problem.
The signs of lapses, however, started to appear after some lawmakers themselves discovered the loopholes in the registration alone.
The Philippine National Police also reported that the number of cybercrimes increased by 21.8 percent in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.
“It is a must to review the law from time to time to ascertain its efficiency and need of the times in the face of a fast changing digital innovations,” said Climaco.
Climaco proposed the creation of a Technical Working Group that will conduct assessment every six months.