MANILA, PHILIPPINES —The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is holding off on making a decision to extend the April 26 deadline for SIM card registration.
The DICT wants to encourage Filipinos to register within the deadline in the next 12 days. However, DICT Undersecretary for Industry Development Jocelle Batapa-Sigue assures the public that meetings are being conducted to discuss a possible deadline extension.
“We want to encourage Filipinos to register during the last 12 days before the deadline on April 26,” Sigue said.
“Meetings are conducted to decide on the extension and ensure that it will really serve its purpose. As to whether there will be an extension and how long the extension will still be decided in the coming days,” Sigue added.
As of April 11, only 39.41% of total SIM card subscribers had registered, with 66,220,334 SIM card registrations. Two of the country’s largest telecommunications companies, Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc., have called for an extension of the deadline.
They both have not reached half of their user bases yet. Failure to register SIM cards before the deadline results in deactivation, rendering them unusable for voice calls, text messaging, and mobile data services.
To register, all existing SIM subscribers must submit an accomplished form through a database platform or website provided by their telecommunications company.
The SIM Registration Act (Republic Act No. 11934), the first law enacted by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in October, is part of the government’s effort to improve national security and curb fraudulent activities such as scams and identity theft. The SIM Card Registration Law allows the deadline to be extended by up to 120 days. – WhatALife!/Jayve
Also read: Telcos Request Extension of SIM Registration Deadline as Only 39% of Target Reached
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