Marcos instructed the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to inform the public of the extension of SIM registration.
Until this Sunday, April 23, more than 82 million SIM cards have been registered, which is equivalent to 49.31% of the total active SIMs until December 2022, or 168,016,400 total number of active SIMs in the country.
Of the 82 million registered SIMs, over 37 million are from Globe, over 39 million from Smart and over five million from Dito.
DICT targets 70% of active SIMs to be registered in the 90-day extension.
Under the SIM Card Registration Act, the deadline for mandatory SIM registration is set for April 26, 2023. However, there is a provision in the law that it can be extended if necessary.
Senator Grace Poe, the principal sponsor of the law in the Senate, supported the decision to extend SIM registration.
The senator said that the telecommunications companies should take action and go down to the “grassroots” so that even those in remote areas can register.
“As most telcos have been enjoying vast profits from their services, they have the corresponding obligation and the necessary resources to track down their SIM users and to widen the opportunity for registration,” said Poe, chairperson of Senate public services committee.
Pres. Marcos approves 90-day SIM registration extension
“Both [National Telecommunications Commission] and telcos must double their efforts in reaching out to subscribers in rural and remote areas,” she added.
In the interim, two days prior to the deadline for SIM card registration, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and its affiliated entities convened with representatives from the three publicly-owned telecommunications corporations, namely Globe, Smart, and DITO, to confer on concerns pertaining to the execution of Republic Act No. 11934.
As per a statement released by the DICT, a productive dialogue was held with the aforementioned enterprises regarding potential solutions to the impediments that registrants face, including but not limited to hurdles encountered when acquiring government-issued identification and documentation, as well as enhancements to the SIM registration procedure.
“The possibility of extending the SIM registration period was also discussed during the meeting. We advise everyone to await the official announcement of the Department on the matter,” the statement read.
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