Highlights

A new law (R.A. 11934) requires SIM card registration by all phone users — including children, overseas Filipino workers who use mobile phones in the Philippines, foreigners, and pre-paid account holders.

Unregistered SIM cards could be deactivated afer April 26, 2023.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) urges mobile phone users in the Philippines to register their SIM cards, or face deactivation.  

Manila: Avoid the rush. Unregistered mobile users in the country have a few days left before the end of the registration period.

A new law mandates that unregistered SIM cards in the Philippines could face deactivation after April 26. A survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), however, shows that 55 percent of Filipinos knew just recently that the sign-up was mandatory.

By law, all phone users — including children, OFWs who use mobile phones in the Philippines, foreigners, and pre-paid account holders —  must register their SIM card within a given period. 

About 62.2 million have so far registered, representing only 36.79 per cent of all subscriber identity module (SIM) cards sold as of April 7, 2023, according to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

Department Secretary Ivan John Uy urged users to “take immediate action to prevent the inconvenience of deactivation.”

Here’s the breakdown of the 62.2 million registered SIMs, as per DICT:

DITO: 4.7 million

Globe: 26.3 million

SMART: 31.1 million

The agency warned subscribes to register only through official Public Telecommunication Entities, in order to avoid scams and identity theft.

HOW TO REGISTER

The agency said the official links are as follows:

* SMART – smart.com.ph/simreg or simreg.smart.com.ph

* GLOBE – new.globe.com.ph/simreg

* DITO – https://digital.dito.ph/pto/download/app

Subscribers can also get assistance, and air complaints through the hotline 1326 and their official numbers (SMART: 0947 714 7105, GLOBE: 0966 976 5971, DITO: 0991 481 4225), according to the DICT.

Republic Act No. 11934

Under the law, Republic Act No. 11934, signed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos on October 10, 2022, existing subscribers have four months — from December 27, 2022 to April 26, 2023 — to register their SIM card — or face deactivation.

Violators of the law could also face fines or jail.

Before the law was passed, there was no system of SIM registration in the Philippines. This has been exploited by many unscrupulous individuals to use them for fraud.

Thousands of Filipinos have lost money to phising via short messaging services, but only a few have filed formal complaints.

However, the low level of registration has prompted telecom companies Globe and Smart to call for the April 26 deadline extension. It’s not immediately clear whether the request for extension, as provided by law, would be granted by the DICT.