Government urged to ensure all SIMs are registered

MANILA, Philippines — As the Supreme Court did not issue an order to restrain the registration of subscriber identity modules, Sen. Grace Poe said it is now high time for government agencies and telecommunication companies to work at full speed to ensure that all SIMs in the country are registered.

Poe said, “the Supreme Court ruling on the SIM Law is a big boost as registration continues as it affirms the need to have all mobile subscribers get enlisted for our safe mobile use.”

“We urge concerned government agencies and telcos to work with 5G speed to get the public to register their SIM,” she added.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied the petition to issue a temporary restraining order against the implementation of the SIM Registration Act.

Instead, it ordered the National Telecommunications Commission; National Privacy Commission; and the Departments of Information and Communications Technology, Trade and Industry, the Interior and Local Government, and Education; as well as private companies Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, PLDT, Dito Telecommunity, Digitel Mobile Philippines (Sun Cellular) and Cherry Mobile Communications to submit their comments.

At the same time, the government also announced an extension of 90 days for mobile users to register their SIM – a move that Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy described as a “last chance” given by the government to mobile subscribers.

Given these, Poe raised the need for the concerned government agencies and telecommunication companies to address issues in SIM registration, which include the lack of government-issued IDs – a situation that she said prevents or discourages users from complying with the law.

“We aim for a law that is inclusive to give our people a secure mobile environment,” Poe stressed.