Highlights
- A new law (R.A. 11934) requires SIM card registration by all phone users — including children, overseas Filipino workers who use mobile phones in the Philippines, foreigners, and pre-paid account holders.
- Unregistered SIM cards could be deactivated after April 26, 2023.
- The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) urges mobile phone users in the Philippines to register their SIM cards, or face deactivation.
Manila: Avoid last-minute rush. That is the advice given by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to mobile users in the country as end of the mandatory SIM card registration period looms.
A new law mandates that unregistered SIM cards in the Philippines could face deactivation after April 26.
The department has indicated that no extension will be made. A survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), however, shows that 55 percent of Filipinos knew just recently that the sign-up was mandatory.
By law, all phone users — including children, OFWs who use mobile phones in the Philippines, foreigners, and pre-paid account holders — must register their SIM card within the given window.
Deadline
That window closes on April 26, 2023. In April 9, the DICT stated that an extension will not be made after April 26.
Only 65.15 million subscribers have so far registered their units as of April 12, 2023, according to the department.
Department Secretary Ivan John Uy urged users to “take immediate action to prevent the inconvenience of deactivation.”
The agency warned subscribes to register only through official Public Telecommunication Entities, in order to avoid scams and identity theft.
How to register
The agency said the official links are as follows:
* SMART – smart.com.ph/simreg or simreg.smart.com.ph
* GLOBE – new.globe.com.ph/simreg
* DITO – https://digital.dito.ph/pto/download/app
Subscribers can also get assistance, and air complaints through the hotline 1326 and their official numbers (SMART: 0947 714 7105, GLOBE: 0966 976 5971, DITO: 0991 481 4225), according to the DICT.
Republic Act No. 11934
Under the law, Republic Act No. 11934 (SIM Card Registration Act) signed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos on October 10, 2022, existing subscribers have four months — from December 27, 2022 to April 26, 2023 — to register their SIM card — or face deactivation.
Violators of the law could also face fines or jail. Meanwhile, local media reported that three persons were arrested in Makati City’s Barangay Poblacion for selling SIM cards already registered in violation of RA 11934.
Before the law was passed, there was no system of SIM registration in the Philippines. This has been exploited by many unscrupulous individuals to use them for fraud.
Thousands of Filipinos have lost money to phising via short messaging services, but only a few have filed formal complaints.
However, the low level of registration has prompted telecom companies Globe and Smart to call for the April 26 deadline extension. It’s not immediately clear whether the request for extension, as provided by law, would be granted by the DICT.
