Sim Registration Deadline Extended for 90 days

President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. has granted the 90-day extension of the mandatory SIM registration beyond the original deadline of April 26. The new deadline for SIM card registration in the country has been set as 27 June 2023.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has been directed to publicly announce the extension by Marcos. Failure to register within the extension period will result in limited SIM services from the telecommunication companies.

As of April 23, more than 82 million SIM cards have been registered, which is 49.31% of the total active SIMs as of December 2022. Of the registered SIMs, more than 37 million are Globe subscribers, more than 39 million are Smart subscribers, and over five million are Dito subscribers. The DICT aims to register 70% of active SIMs within the 90-day extension.

Under the SIM Card Registration Act, the original deadline for mandatory SIM registration is on April 26, 2023. Users have 180 days or until April 26, 2023, to register their SIMs. Failure to register within the given period will result in deactivation and loss of most of the cellphone services, including social media access.

Senator Grace Poe, the principal sponsor of the law, welcomes the extension and urges the telecommunication companies to go down to the grassroots level and reach out to their subscribers. Poe reminds the companies of their obligation to track down their SIM users and widen the opportunity for registration.

The DICT, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), and telecommunication companies are encouraged to disseminate correct information on the law and clarify the confusion surrounding its implementation. Among the provisions of the law that need clarification are that SIMs will still be available in local retailers and sari-sari stores even past the registration deadline.

The implementing rules and regulations of the SIM Card Registration Act took effect on December 27, after it was signed into law by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. last October. Data from the DICT revealed that more than half of the SIMs across the country have yet to be registered with their respective PTEs three days before the April 26 deadline.

On Monday, the government assured the public that they will keep a careful watch on telecommunication companies to ensure that they do not take undue advantage. The Supreme Court denied the bid to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the implementation of the mandatory SIM registration. Instead, the court required the respondents to file a comment on the petition within ten days from the actual receipt of notice.

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