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Atty. Deo Virgil Tan, legal officer of National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Region 6, said as of Monday noon, April 24, they have not received a directive from the NTC central office extending the registration.
Under Republic Act (RA) 11934, or the SIM Registration Act, the deadline is April 26, 2023.
Tan said on Monday the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) held a meeting with the public telecommunication entities (PTEs), or telecommunication companies such as Smart, Globe and DITO, and other key personalities to assess the implementation of RA 11934, particularly on whether there is a need to extend the registration.
He explained the role of the NTC is to lead the implementation of RA 11934, and they will only follow directives from DICT.
As of April 22, there were 80,372,656 registered SIMS in the country, or 47.84 percent of the total of 168,016,400 subscribers.
“I would like to advise the public if you want to continuously use your number, especially those numbers na 10 or 15 years na nga ginagamit, ipa-register na ninyo ina before ang deadline para at least masige-sige ninyo gamit,” said Tan.
For senior citizens, persons with disability, or those who have difficulty registering their SIM, Tan advised them to ask their family members or go to PTEs to get assistance.
There are also facilitated SIM card registrations conducted by NTC-6 together with the PTEs.
Today, NTC-6 and the PTEs will be at the municipal covered gym of New Lucena, Iloilo.
According to Tan, more than 20,000 SIM cards have been registered in the facilitated SIM card registration conducted by NTC-6.
He also observed that the number of subscribers going to their venue is increasing as the registration deadline approaches.
NTC and DICT were given 180 days to implement SIM card registration.
Here are the links to remember for the SIM card registration:
* for DITO subscribers – https://dito.ph/RegisterDITO
* for Globe subscribers – https://new.globe.com.ph/simreg
* for Smart subscribers – https://smart.com.ph/simreg
As explained by the NTC-6 legal officer, subscribers should register within the given period to avoid having their SIM deactivated.
If there are still many unregistered subscribers after 180 days, the DICT may order an extension for another 120 days.
After the extension, all unregistered SIM cards will be automatically deactivated.
As a last option, the NTC and DICT will grant a five-day grace period before permanent deactivation.
“Basically, kon indi sila makapa-register sa sina nga timeline, automatic ma-deactivate ang ila SIM card. Meaning indi na nila magamit, madulaan na sila sang signal kag madulaan sang service,” added Tan.
“Deactivated state” refers to the condition or status of a SIM that renders it incapable of being used for outgoing and incoming calls, internet access, or sending and receiving messages, except for exclusively enabling and informing such a SIM to be registered.
The NTC-6 legal officer reminded subscribers to provide the correct information when registering their SIM because there will be a corresponding penalty for those who give fictitious information.
Under the implementing rules and regulations of RA 11934, the penalty of imprisonment ranging from six months to two years or a fine of not less than P100,000 but not more than P300,000, or both, shall be imposed upon anyone who provides false or fictitious information or who uses a fictitious identity or fraudulent identification documents to register a SIM.
Meanwhile, these are the valid government-issued identification (ID) cards or other similar forms of documents with a photo needed to verify the identity of the end-user: Passport, Philippine Identification Card, Social Security Service, Government Service Insurance System e-card, driver’s license, National Bureau of Investigation clearance, police clearance, Firearms’ License to Own and Possess ID, Professional Regulation Commission ID, Integrated Bar of the Philippines ID, Overseas Workers Welfare Development ID, Bureau of Internal Revenue ID, Voters’ ID, and senior citizens’ ID, among others.
Only one valid government-issued ID is needed for the registration form./PN