President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Monday signed into law the proposed SIM Card Registration Act, which aims to stop criminals and fraudsters from using cellular phones to victimize Filipinos.

In signing Republic Act No. 11934 (RA 11934) or the SIM Card Registration Act, Marcos said the law will provide an effective means of regulating the issuance of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards to curb the spread of spam text messages and scams, which has long been overdue.

“We will soon be able to provide law enforcement agencies with the tools needed to resolve crimes perpetrated with the use of SIM Cards, as well as provide a strong deterrence against the commission of wrongdoing,” he pointed out.

Marcos noted that with the proliferation of reports of various crimes using mobile phones and the spread of text scams and spam, the public will welcome the new law.

He also commended the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate for coming up with the timely and comprehensive law, which is the first legislative measure that successfully passed the approval of the bicameral panel of both houses in the 19th Congress.

Marcos further stressed that with the signing of this law, the first legislation he enacted, his administration is setting the tone that it is our national policy to ensure that technology shall only be used to improve our people’s lives.

“Moving forward, it is my hope that we will be able to enact even more similar measures to help bring forth the security, progress, and prosperity we aspire for the Filipino and for the entire nation,” he said.

The law mandates the registration of all SIM cards, requiring every public telecommunication entity or direct seller to maintain a SIM Card Register of all their subscribers, which will contain all information required under the law.

They are also required to demand end users of SIM cards to present a valid identification document to validate their identities.

To cover all users of SIM cards in this act, telecommunications entities are mandated to ensure the registration of existing pre-paid SIM card phone subscribers within a prescribed period.

The law also provides appropriate penalties for the use of false or fictitious information, the use of fictitious identities, and the use of fraudulent documents or identifications to register a SIM card.

Other salient provisions of the law also include the protection of confidentiality and data privacy rights of subscribers, which shall begin to take effect at the point of sale.

However, to prevent the commission of crimes and unlawful acts using cellular phones, RA 11934 likewise provides that public telecommunication entities can be compelled to disclose information contained in the SIM card registration, upon a duly issued subpoena or court order upon the finding of probable cause on a particular number that has been used in the commission of a crime or to commit an unlawful act. OPS