Better implementation of SIM card registration law pushed

By: Adrian Parungao - 1 year ago

MANILA, Philippines — One of the authors of the subscriber identity module card (SIM) registration law has called for its better implementation amidst the spread of scams even after its approval.

Senator Grace Poe, who authored and sponsored the bill, said during a Senate inquiry on Tuesday that law enforcement units must exert more effort in going after scammers.

“Gumawa tayo ng batas pero mukhang nagkukulang sa implementasyon,” Poe said.

(We created a law but we seem to lack implementation.)

Poe also opened up about the possibility of scammers engaged in an inside job with telecommunication providers, thus bypassing the SIM registration regulations.

“Karamihan ng mga SIMs na ito ay hindi pa bukas pero pre-registered na. Hindi maipaliwanag ng mga telcos kung paano nangyari ito. Hindi kaya inside job? Paano at saan sila nakakuha ng ganitong karaming SIM? Mayroon bang black market ng pre-registered SIMs?” Poe said.

(Many of these SIMs were unopened but have already been pre-registered. The telcos cannot explain how this happened. Is it an inside job? How did they get this many SIMS? Is there a black market of pre-registered SIMs?)

She added that the requisites for reporting a scammer or a violation was tedious, compared to the registration of the SIM itself, which led users to be discouraged about bringing these issues with authorities.

“Many others do not want to go through the hassle of reporting. Hingan ka ba naman ng dalawang valid ID bago makapag-report sa NTC at telcos. Maraming Pilipino ang wala pa ring ID, dalawa pa kaya? Bakit mas pahirapan ang pag-report habang mukhang mas madaling mag-register ng SIM?” Poe said.

(Many do not want to go through the hassle of reporting. They will even be asked for two valid IDs before they can report to the NTC and the telcos. Many Filipinos don’t have an ID, let alone two? Why is it harder to report a violation while it is easier to register a SIM card?)

Data from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) showed that there were 113.97 million SIM cards registered as of July 30, the last day of the eight-month registration period.

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