INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Three individuals were arrested in Makati City’s Barangay Poblacion for selling subscriber identity module (SIM) cards already registered in violation of Republic Act No. 11934 or the SIM Card Registration Act.
Reports from the Southern Police District (SPD) released on Friday stated that its Special Operations Unit conducted a buy-bust operation on Thursday against employees of Hapson Technology, which was said to be selling pre-registered SIM cards.
In operation, at least 40 prepaid SIM cards from telecommunication company Globe Telecom, and 37 from Smart Communications were confiscated from Elvies Basilio, 29; and Jomar Colinares, 30 — both employees of Hapson Technology, police said.
A certain Frankeinstein David Santiago, was also arrested during a follow-up operation at Hapson Technology’s office in Barangay Bangkal. Santiago, the husband of one of the employees, was nabbed after he became aggressive against officers who were conducting the follow-up operations, police said.
R.A. No. 11934 was signed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. last October 2022 to crack down on phishing scams and other crimes perpetrated through text messages.
Under the law, existing phone users would need to register their SIM Cards, while new buyers would need to present documents for identification. This ensures that someone would be held accountable for text messages or calls sent incognito or anonymously.
READ: SIM card registration law signed amid privacy concerns
But if pre-registered SIM cards are being sold, this would defeat the purpose of the law as authorities would not be able to correctly track users in the event of a crime where the pre-registered SIM card was used.
READ: SIM card registration: A step-by-step guide
Aside from the SIM cards, police managed to recover two P500 bills used as marked money and 99 pieces of P1,000 bills used as boodle money. A white Toyota Hi-Ace was also confiscated from the suspects.
SPD said complaints for violating R.A. No. 11934 and R.A. No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 would be filed before the Office of the City Prosecutor in Makati against Basilio and Colinares.
Santiago, meanwhile, would face charges for violation of Presidential Decree No. 1829 (Obstruction of Apprehension and Prosecution of Criminal Offenders) and Article 155 of the Revised Penal Code (Alarm and Scandal).
SPD said all suspects are currently under the custody of the Special Operations Unit.