THE government needs to reassess the Subscribers Identity Module (SIM) registration law amid the continued rise of cybercrimes, a consumer group said on Wednesday.
In a statement, Pet Climaco, secretary general of advocacy group Konsyumer at Mamamayan, described Republic Act 11934, otherwise known as the SIM registration law, as a “failure” as text scams have become more aggressive.
“We call on the government to continue to have an assessment of the SIM registration law whether it has really worked or not. It is not right to say that because we already have a law in place we will just leave it at that,” said Climaco.
A mobile phone and accessories vendor shows simcards from different networks, for sale inside her stall in Quiapo, Manila, on 08 October 2022.FILE PHOTO BY MIKE ALQUINTO
“We brag about [SIM Card Registration] but what happened? There are still a lot of scammers using text and mobile phones,” he added.
Climaco noted that based on data from the Philippine National Police, the number of cybercrimes increased by 21.8 percent in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.
He pointed out that the law must be reviewed from time to time to ascertain its efficiency and “need of the times in the face of a fast-changing digital innovations.”
“In our opinion, it is best that we always study the law maybe every six months,” said Climaco.
“Are the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) that the Technical Working Group put in place still working? From there, we can then decide if we need to upgrade the law,” he added.
The SIM card law mandates the registration of SIM cards before activation. Under the measure, mobile device users must register their SIM cards, whether prepaid or postpaid. The law was enacted intending to curb cybercriminal activities. The law also aims to address issues related to trolling, hate speech, and online disinformation.
The IRR of the law was enacted on December 27, 2022.
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