THE National Telecommunications Commission has created a task force to closely monitor the implementation of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act.
NTC officer-in-charge Ella Blanca B. Lopez said that the commission formed an NTC Task Force through Office Order No. 112-12-2022 to strongly keep an eye on the day-to-day implementation by the public telecommunication entities (PTEs) of the SIM Registration Act and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) on a nationwide scale.
The task force is also mandated to immediately take appropriate action to address concerns and other issues on the SIM registration process and implementation.
Following the start of the law, Globe has reported 1,769,374 successful registrations, while Smart had 1,019,207. DITO reported 530,424 listups.
“This is a priority legislation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the protection of consumers from illegal activities such as scam and smishing. Bilin po ng ating mahal na Pangulo na ito pong proseso ay gawing madali para sa ating mamamayan,” said Lopez.
She also expressed gratitude to concerned government agencies, PTEs, consumer groups and the public, who took part in crafting the IRR of SIM Registration Act.
Meantime, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla stressed that the public should not be fearful of the SIM law.
“The public should not be afraid of the SIM Registration Act as this will not be used for state surveillance or any such nefarious purpose,” said Remulla, adding that the data collected will be under strict oversight and monitoring.
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Margarita Gutierrez, on the other hand, relayed the DILG’s dedication from its Central Office down to its Field Offices, together with the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement agencies, in providing the support needed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the NTC and other government agencies in the SIM Registration process.
Meanwhile, DICT Undersecretary Anna Mae Lamentillo said that the SIM Registration Law aims to protect citizens from fraudulent acts perpetrated through phone calls and text messages.
“In order to do this, everyone must cooperate in the registration of their SIM cards. The sooner we are able to accomplish the registration the better, so that we can start experiencing the effect and protection of the law,” said Lamentillo.
SIMs may be registered thru these links: ditto.ph/RegisterDITO (DITO); new.globe.com.ph/simreg (GLOBE); smart.com.ph/simreg (SMART).
To recall, the President signed Republic Act 11394 on October 10, 2022 — the first law enacted under his administration.
