SIM registration law failed, says lawmaker

Inquirer file photo

MANILA, Philippines — Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers sought to amend Republic Act No. 11934, lamenting that the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act, enacted in October 2022, has failed to curb cybercrimes as intended.

Barbers lamented that despite the passage of the SIM card law, which mandates the registration of post and prepaid SIM cards, local and foreign criminals have managed to skirt the law and continue their scamming operations.

He pointed out, “The law was intended to curb cybercriminal activities, [and] address issues related to trolling, hate speech, and online disinformation. But what we are seeing and witnessing today is that online scamming activities continue and remain unabated.”

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Barbers noted that the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission raids on Pogos (Philippine offshore gaming operators) facilities in Bamban, Tarlac, and Porac, Pampanga, yielded tens of thousands of unused SIM cards, pointing out, “And we all know too well that these Pogo operators and workers won’t use them for good intentions.”

He cited various online scams in the Philippines, including phishing, automated teller machine skimming, identity theft, online shopping, lottery scams, crowdfunding scams, love or romance scams, advance fee fraud, fake websites, SIM swap scams, SMS phishing, blackmail, credit card scams, impersonation scams, online banking scams, catfishing, charity scams, computer hacking, investment scams, and grandparent scams.

Barbers, who chairs the House committee on dangerous drugs, pointed out that some narcotics peddlers use postpaid SIM cards to hide their real identities and avoid detection so they can post and sell their “coded” illegal wares on various social media platforms. —Jeannette I. Andrade