Senator Grace Poe said the fate of the SIM Registration Law now rests on the collective wisdom of the magistrates of the Supreme Court (SC).
“We worked hard and fought for its passage to fend off scams and spams preying on our people, and sometimes causing them financial losses and endangering their safety,” Poe said.
Poe, the chairperson of the Senate committee on public service, also said the law has instituted adequate safeguards that will vouch for consumers’ right to privacy while ensuring safe and secure mobile use. “We respect the processes of the high court in deliberating on the petition,” she added.
Earlier, the SC has been asked to declare unconstitutional Republic Act No. 11934, otherwise known as the SIM Registration Act, on the ground that it violates the basic constitutional rights of SIM card users.
In a 59-page petition filed by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and several other individuals, the petitioners also sought the immediate issuance of a temporary restraining order and/or a writ of preliminary injunction enjoining the implementation of the law pending the resolution of the petition.
Telecom company Globe meanwhile said on Tuesday said it is offering incentives to attract subscribers to register their SIMs with just a week left before the April 26 deadline. Darwin G. Amojelar
Through the 2x Rewards Campaign, Prepaid subscribers with P90 and above promo/load transactions and TM customers with P50 and above transactions will get twice the Rewards when they register via the GlobeOne app. All customers who have registered earlier also included in the promo.
Globe Rewards is the company’s way of granting special treats to its subscribers for their loyal use of Globe or TM products and services.
The 2X Rewards promo aims to encourage new and existing Globe and TM prepaid subscribers to comply with Republic Act No. 11934 or the SIM Registration Act, which aims to curb fraud and other forms of cybercrime by establishing a registry of SIM users.
“We urge our subscribers to take advantage of the 2X Rewards promo and register their SIMs before the April 26 deadline to avoid inconvenience,” said Jerome Patalud, head of Globe Rewards.
“We recognize the significance of the SIM Registration Act in preventing scams and other forms of online criminal activity, and we are committed to helping our customers comply. Let’s work together to make our online community safer and more secure,” he added.
Globe continues to ramp up efforts to register its subscribers nationwide. It provides SIM Registration Assistance in Globe Stores and EasyHubs nationwide. It also deploys booths in remote areas to help those having a hard time to register their SIMs, especially seniors, PWDs, pregnant women, those with no internet access or are using basic phones.
It has also partnered with local government units (LGUs), groceries, and malls in putting up assisted registration booths in more than 100 sites nationwide. Globe has logged over 31 million SIM registrations as of April 17 out of its 86.7 million subscriber base.
