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A bill to control the distribution of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards was signed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday to stop the spread of text messaging fraud in the nation.

Vice President Sara Duterte, parliamentarians, and other government representatives were present as Marcos signed Republic Act No. (RA) 11934, popularly known as An Act Requiring the Registration of SIM Cards, at Malacanang Palace.

The first piece of legislation passed by the Marcos government is RA 11934. On October 8, two days after reaching his 100th day in office, Marcos signed the document.

In a speech, Marcos congratulated senators and representatives for coming up with the “long overdue” legislation that aims to use SIM cards to solve crimes.

“Truly, many of our citizens will appreciate the legislation, especially in light of recent statistics indicating that numerous crimes are now being committed via mobile devices, including the widespread use of spam and text-based schemes. With the signing of this law, we did indeed set the critical precedent that it is our national policy to make sure that technology is solely utilized to enhance the lives of our people, added Marcos.

Marcos expressed the wish that his administration would take additional steps to ensure the safety, development, and prosperity of the country and its citizens.

The Public Telecommunication Entities (PTEs) or direct marketers of SIM cards are required by RA 11934, which unifies House Bill No. 14 and Senate Bill No. 1310, to demand that end users show a legal identification document to prove their identities.

Additionally, PTEs are required to provide the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) with a verified list of all of their authorized dealers and agents nationally and an updated list of the same every three months.

The law requires all PTEs to keep a SIM Card Registry of its users that includes the data needed to comply with the new regulation.

Additionally, it contains clauses on confidentiality and non-disclosure of information that forbid disclosure of any subscriber information to absent a subpoena, valid court order, or written request from law enforcement in connection with an ongoing investigation into whether a specific number requested was used to commit a crime.

The secrecy provision in the SIM card registration must go into effect at the time of sale and with the registration of current pre-paid SIM card phone customers, according to RA 11934.

If subscribers don’t register within the allotted time, their services for that particular provisioned SIM card will be automatically terminated.

A sworn complaint alleging that a particular mobile number was or is being used to commit a crime, or that it was used as a means to commit a malicious, fraudulent, or unlawful act, and that the complainant is unable to determine the identity of the perpetrator, will be used by a competent authority to issue a subpoena to conduct an investigation.

According to RA 11934, there are also appropriate penalties for failing to register a SIM, violating confidentiality, negligently violating confidentiality, providing false or fictitious information, using fictitious identities or falsifying documents to register a SIM, spoofing a registered SIM, selling a stolen SIM, and selling or transferring a registered SIM without complying with the registration requirements.

Timeframe for SIM card registration

Ivan John Uy, the information and communications technology secretary, stated in an interview that the NTC and PTEs will still discuss before deciding on a timeframe for registering SIM cards.

“In my opinion, the NTC needs to determine the required time after consulting with the telcos because they must have their systems and personnel ready for this. But I believe there are many processes, madali na (it’s simple, there are many processes),” he remarked.

To avoid long queues in their physical locations, Uy suggested that PTEs require their subscribers to validate their SIM cards online as electronic wallets do.

“The data is already there,” says the speaker.

Particularly for post-paid phones, it’s already there, so they just need to confirm that the person using the phone is the same as the one who applied.

The prepaid would provide a problem. The message would still read, “Okay, Mr. Anonymous, given the SIM Card Registration Bill, please log in, and you will receive a verification text on your phone that you are the owner of that phone,” he claimed.

He continued, “Those who didn’t do it presumably would be given a few opportunities to do it over some time, else they would be cut off.”

He claimed that identification (ID) cards presented, such as driver’s licenses and passports, could readily be verified by involved organizations like the Land Transportation Office and Department of Foreign Affairs to ensure that those enrolling SIM cards are authentic.

Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos, a presidential son and representative for Ilocos Norte’s first district, applauded the signing of the new law and expressed optimism that it would stop con artists from taking advantage of Filipinos.

One of the co-authors of HB 14, which House Speaker Martin Romualdez supported, is the younger Marcos, the Senior Deputy Majority Leader of the House.

“I think the most evident feeling that individuals would have is hope that the scam texts sent to them were not successful” (we would stop getting these text scams). As I mentioned, “it’s extremely frightening because they even know people’s names,” he told reporters. “Pati ngayon dinagdag din yung mga pangalan ng mga tao.”

He added that the new rule was “a wonderful enhancement to the security of the personal information of our kababayans.”

safeguarding subscribers

The first bill passed by the Marcos administration, the measure was immediately signed into law, and House Speaker Martin G. Romualdez praised the President for it in a statement.

He shows that the Marcos administration has realized the importance of implementing policies to safeguard Filipino consumers from internet scammers and hackers.

Romualdez praised the bill as a “wonderful” first step in defending Filipinos’ privacy, which is now exposed to invasion by dishonest people who use personal information to misrepresent, cheat, or swindle customers.

“The 18th Congress, in which I served as Majority Leader, saw an extensive discussion on this proposal, but the previous administration vetoed it because it included a clause requiring the registration of social media accounts. The current version of the statute no longer has this clause. We want to once more express our gratitude to President Marcos for recognizing the virtues and significance of this bill when he put his signature on the SIM Registration Act and signed it into law, “Added he.

Advantages outweigh drawbacks

On the other hand, the Philippine National Police (PNP) expressed optimism that the advantages of the SIM Card Registration Law will surpass any privacy concerns and other issues brought up by subscribers.

PNP commander Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. allayed users’ concerns over the matter by asserting that the country’s laws adequately safeguard the confidentiality of communications.

He continued by saying that the legislation would make it easier for law enforcement to track offenders because every mobile phone user would be properly identified.

“In our experience, criminals switched from traditional crimes to online crimes using telecommunication and cyberspace platforms at the pandemic’s commencement in 2019, when individuals were prohibited from leaving their houses. They have developed various operating procedures to defraud individuals of their hard-earned money. Using prepaid SIM cards to con unwary victims, they concealed themselves behind the comfort of anonymity, the man claimed.

According to statistics from the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group, Azurin claimed that the police had documented a total of 4,254 incidents involving SIM cards from January to September of this year.

This does not include cases handled by other PNP units, other governmental agencies, reported occurrences handled by other financial institutions, or cases where the victims did not disclose the incident.

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