The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday launched its information dissemination campaign on the newly-enacted SIM Card Registration Act which will take effect on Dec. 27, 2022.
The law, according to the DILG, will help combat cybercrimes and other illegal online activities.
DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. said with millions of Filipino mobile subscribers, an intensive information drive must be carried out at the grassroots level and the local government units (LGUs) should step up in educating the public on the requirements and importance of the law.
“As we seek to ensure public safety even in the online space, I encourage LGUs to exert all efforts to promote responsible use of SIM cards, educate their stakeholders on the benefits of mandatory SIM card registration and guide them through the whole registration process,” Abalos said.
He said the SIM Card Registration Act would help the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement authorities in curbing rising electronic communication-aided criminal activities in the Philippines such as mobile phishing, text spams, online scams, bank frauds and identity theft.
The new law, the first to be enacted by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., aims to regulate the registration and use of SIMs by mandating all end-users to register their SIMs with their respective telecommunications networks before their activation.
Abalos said its implementation would not only prompt accountability from all sides—the mobile users, the telcos, the government and authorities—but will also help the PNP to quickly locate offenders of crimes committed in anonymity through the use of electronic devices.