President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos recently signed a law that will be beneficial in removing text scams all over the country.
“With the signing of this Act we will finally achieve what has long been overdue, an effective means of regulating the issuance of SIM cards to curb the spread of spam text messages and scams,” Marcos said during the signing of the Republic Act 11934 also known as the SIM Registration Act.
The act, which was vetoed by former President Rodrigo Duterte, constitutes the sale of SIM cards throughout the country will be established.
Mobile phone prepaid subscribers will only be given 180 days to register and verify their phone numbers before the law takes effect on their respective telecommunication companies.
Another 120 days will be given to subscribers under a valid written request addressed to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
One of the authors of the said law, Senator Win Gatchalian confirmed that this 6-month period is enough for the registration of SIM cards.
“The [prepaid] subscriber will be given six months to register. So that’s a lot of time for [prepaid] subscribers,” said Gatchalian.
The registration process involves the signing of a form that contains the personal information of the user. A valid government ID will then be presented to verify the identity of the holder.
If the user cannot comply with this requirement, their SIM card will be deactivated.
Meanwhile, the data and personal information of those who availed of postpaid plans will be included in the SIM Registration.
Since data and private information are being collected, the law also stipulates the provision with regard to the confidentiality and data privacy of users.
It is said that information about subscribers can only be given upon securing a subpoena or order from the court or a written request from a law enforcement agency.
Breach of confidentiality will result in penalties.
