Unregistered subscriber identity module (SIM) card owners can request for reactivation their SIM within five days after its automatic deactivation, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) official said Friday.

During the "Laging Handa" public briefing on Friday, NTC Deputy Commissioner Jon Paulo Salvahan said after the deadline of the SIM registration on April 26, if there will be no extension the SIM will be automatically deactivated.

"Upon expiration of the deadline assuming there is no extension under the law, the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) automatically deactivated the SIM. However the law and the IRR provided a way to have these SIMS reactivated within five days from automatic deactivation. You can request for the reactivation of SIM within five days," he said.

Salvahan said an extension of the April 26 deadline remains an option.

When asked about the possible extension of the SIM registration, Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan Uy said they will meet stakeholders on Monday to study the situation of the SIM registration.

"We will have a meeting with the stakeholder and telcos on Monday, so we will study the situation of our registration," he said.

"Based on our latest record, the number of registered SIM cards now reached 78 million, the 168 (million) figure is quite bloated because based on the assessment of the Telcos, there is a possibility the actual number of SIM cards is just around 100 million," Salvahan added.

As of April 19, a total of 75, 564, 837 SIM cards have been registered out of the estimated 168 million, DICT said.

As he emphasized the significant volume of SIM card registration monitored since the start of this month, Salvahan noted a substantial increase in the number of registrants expected if the 120 days extension will be allowed.

"From April 1 to 18 we saw a sharp increase in the number of registrants where one million have registered. If that rate continues, assuming we will have an extension, the extension period will be enough to substantially increase the number of registrants," he said.

Salvahan said the factors that will be considered for possible extension of SIM registration includes the rate of registration and possible concerns or issues why the subscribers could not register their SIM cards. Robina Asido/DMS