Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro is pushing to make the registration of SIM cards onsite instead of online amid perceived loopholes in the law that supposedly allow the resurgence of text scams.

In a press briefing in Malacañan on Thursday, Feb. 27, Castro said Republic Act (RA) No. 11934 or the SIM Registration Act should be reviewed.

"Kahit mga monkeys ay nakakapagrehistro. So, ito po ay talagang kung tutuusin ay paglapastangan sa batas natin (Even monkeys could register. So this is a violation of the law)," she said.

To Castro, one way of avoiding the resurgence of text scams is to make SIM card registration onsite, like when one applies for a driver's license or a clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

"Kasi po kapag ito naman ay ginawa nating online, mangyayari po ulit itong nangyari na maling pagrirehistro, kahit sino na lamang po ay nagri-rehistro (The same issues will repeat if we do it online. Anyone can register)," she said.

"Maraming binibiling SIM cards at ibinibenta sa mga sindikato. Iyon po ang dapat nating ayusin. So, dapat po talaga kung magrirehistro ng SIM card, dapat personal (Some are buying multiple SIM cards and selling them to syndicates. That's what we need to fix. So SIM registration should be personal)," she added.

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) was among the agencies that raised concerns about the SIM Registration Act, citing the continued struggles of law enforcement agencies against online scams despite ongoing crackdowns.

Early this month, PAOCC Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said the SIM Registration Act supposedly allows people to register using fake details.

"Iyong SIM card registration natin kahit sino, kahit anong address ang ilagay mo pwede, kahit anong mukha ang ilagay mo pwede. So, sino ang hahabulin ng imbestigador? Blangko ‘di ba (With our SIM card registration, you can use any address or face. So who will the investigators go after? They're stuck)," he said.

"So, iyon po iyong problema natin dito. Iyong mga krimen, online crimes na nangyayari nag-i-emanate po iyan kasi alam po nila na makakalusot sila dahil sa SIM card registration. Fake iyong ginagamit nila, mga bogus names, bogus address (So that's our problem. The online crimes are happening because they know they could get away because of the SIM card registration. They use fake names and addresses)," he added.

Credit rating firm Moody’s reported that the number of Filipino entities and people with potential links to romance scams saw a rapid surge to 45 in 2024 versus 10 in 2023.

The Philippines ranked seventh globally for the highest number of entities and people with potential ties to romance scams, Moody's added.