SEN. REVILLA LAUDS PRESIDENT MARCOS FOR TIMELY PASSAGE OF SIM CARD REGISTRATION BILL; JOINED CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS DURING THE CEREMONIAL SIGNING

Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. commends President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the timely enactment of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card Registration Law submitted by Congress. As one of the co-authors of the measure, the veteran lawmaker joined congressional leaders in Malacañang Palace on Monday morning for the ceremonial signing of the Act.

Under the new law, all end-users will be required by respective public telecommunication entities (PTEs) to register their SIM cards. Registration shall include submission of full name, birthdate, and address of the user, together with their valid government-issued ID for verification purposes. Existing subscribers shall also be required to register with their respective PTE within 180 days from the effectivity of the Act. Failure to register existing SIM cards within the given period shall result in the deactivation of the same.

The measure hopes to address the worsening number of crimes involving the use of SIM card-enabled devices for communication. In the recent weeks, scam text messages have widely proliferated among many users which includes sensitive data such as names of the subscribers.

"When I personally reached out to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) appealing for the urgent and effective action on the proliferation of scam and phishing text messages, it is with a profound understanding of the pernicious effects it has on the interest and safety of our people. With the signing of this measure which we can all admit has been a long time coming, we are finally moving forward towards eradicating crimes that take advantage of the anonymity provided by unregistered SIM cards back then. We thank President BBM for the swift passage of this crucial piece of legislation.", Revilla said.

The SIM Card Registration Act is the first legislative measure signed into law under President Marcos' administration.