By The SUN
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| All pre-paid SIM cards will now have to be registered in the names of their users |
A legislative measure requiring all mobile phone users in the Philippines to register their real
names and other personal details when acquiring or using SIM cards (or Subcriber Identity Module card) was signed
into law on Monday.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. affixed the final signature to the SIM Registration Act or Republic Act 11934, which seeks to end text and online scams by anonymous people using unregistered SIM cards.
A valid identification document must now be presented to buy a SIM card, and existing ones need to be registered, with a valid ID also as proof.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Telecommunication companies, in turn, must maintain a register of SIM card subscribers, and submit a list of authorized sellers to the government.
About 149 million pre-paid SIM cards being used now are among those that need to be registered within 180 days after the passing of the law.
In his speech, Marcos said the
government has provided law enforcers with a tool to resolve crimes committed
through the use of unregistered SIM cards, and which will also serve as a
deterrent to fraudulent acts.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
As a first step to implementing the
law, all public telecommunication entities (PTEs) must submit a verified
list of their authorized dealers and agents nationwide to the National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and update the list every quarter of each
year.
The NTC will set the period for
registration, and failure by the PTEs to comply by the deadline will
automatically result in the deactivation of its services to existing prepaid
SIM subscribers.
A key feature of the new law is the confidentiality
and non-disclosure provision, which states that no information on a subscriber
can be disclosed without his/her written consent, unless upon subpoena or
lawful order from a court, or written request from a law enforcement agency in
pursuit of an investigation of a crime.
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"Crucially as well, included in
this crucial piece of legislation are provisions that make paramount the
protection of confidentiality and data privacy rights of subscribers, which
shall begin to take effect at the point of sale," the President said.
The law provides that this confidentiality
clause in the SIM registration shall take effect at the point of sale.
Department of Communication and
Information Technology Secretary Ivan Uy said getting the law enforced should
not be a problem.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
“I think madali na, maraming process... for instance, one way I'm thinking of approaching it is lahat tayo may cellphone na eh. So the telcos will just send you a notice na please go to this site and validate, put in your validation na kayo 'yun and then take a picture of your ID and then upload it and then they can verify whether that's correct or not," he added.
Senators quickly welcomed the
passing of the law, with Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on
Public Services, saying it was “long overdue.”
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