The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) advised the public to register their SIM cards before the deadline to prevent losing their numbers after the implementing rules and regulations for the SIM card registration law were established.
SIM card registration will start this coming December 27!
Subscribers have 180 days from the law’s effective date to
register their SIM cards, according to the Implementing Rules and Regulations
(IRR) published on Monday. A maximum of 120 days may be added to the
registration period.
Edgardo Cabarrios, a consultant for the National Telecommunications Commission, said in an interview for ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo that SIM cards will be deactivated if registration is not completed by the deadline, though the Department of Information and Communications Technology may later decide to extend the deadline if necessary.
“They’re waiting for the deadline before registering. That’s why we’re asking the public to register when it opens on December 27. If we have nothing important to do anyway, let’s just register already, let’s not wait for the deadline,” Cabarrios said in Filipino.
Users will be required to provide their full name, birth date, sex, and address. They must also present a copy of their ID card. According to the IRR, all information and data gathered during registration must be treated as absolutely confidential and must not be shared with anybody.
You may provide any of the following picture identity cards or documents:
- Passport
- Philippine Identification System ID
- SSS ID
- GSIS ID
- Driver’s license
- NBI clearance
- Police clearance
- Firearms’ license to own and possess ID
- PRC ID
- IBP ID
- OWWA ID
- BIR ID
- Voter’s ID
- Senior citizen card
- UMID
- PWD card
- Any valid government-issued ID with a photo
The following details are needed for businesses or organizations to use SIMs:
- Business name
- Business address
- Full name of authorized signatory
The following information must be provided by foreigners who are acquiring a SIM from a Filipino telco:
- Full name
- Nationality
- Date of birth
- Passport
- Address in the Philippines
- The type of travel or admission document presented
- ID number or number of documents presented
Moreover, tourists who arrive will be given a SIM card with a 30-day validity period that may be extended with the presentation of an authorized visa renewal. Other sorts of visa holders can purchase SIM cards without the 30-day expiration restriction.
For minors, the registration will be under the name of their parent or guardian. To register the SIM, they will need to provide an ID and the minor’s parent or legal guardian’s permission.
Meanwhile, existing prepaid customers must register on their individual telco’s website, just as new subscribers.
After the Act’s effective date of last October 28 (180 days), all currently in-use SIMs must be registered. A 120-day registration extension is possible. The SIM will be automatically deactivated if you don’t register. However, the deactivated SIM may only be reactivated five days after it has been deactivated.
The postpaid subscriber data is already available to telcos. However, to complete the registration, postpaid users must verify their identity and data on the platform or website made available by the telco provider.
What if a phone or SIM is stolen? Users must notify their telco provider right once if their phones or SIMs are stolen. As soon as a new SIM card is sent to the confirmed user within 24 hours, telcos must render the old SIM card useless and permanently disable it.
There are also penalties for violation of any provision of the law: Anyone who offers false or fake information or who utilizes fake identities or fraudulent identification documents faces a sentence of six months to two years in jail, a fine of not less than PHP 100,000 but not more than PHP 300,000, or both.
Besides, spoofing a registered SIM carries a sentence of up to six years in jail, a fine of PHP 200,000, or both.
For more detailed information about the implementing rules and regulations of the SIM Card registration law, just visit the official website of NTC.
