The SIM Registration Bill needs just the signature of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to become law.
The Senate on September 28 ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill 1310 and House Bill 14 or the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act.
According to Senator Grace Poe, who is the principal author of the Senate bill, the reconciled bill contains the following provisions:
- The term "card" dropped from the bill to accommodate all present and future variations of SIMs.
- Registration goes directly through the telcos' platform as a pre-requisite to the activation of SIM. This means all new SIMs bought will be inactive until you register the SIM.
- 180-day period of registration by minors through a parent or a guardian.
- Data of existing postpaid subscribers should already be included in the SIM register.
- Telcos are mandated to establish registration facilities in far-flung areas within 60 days from the effectivity of the measure.
The new bill no longer contains the controversial social media registration clause, which was the reason why former President Rodrigo "Rody" Roa Duterte vetoed it last April.
The SIM Registration Act seeks to eradicate mobile phone and electronic communication-aided crimes, such as scam text messages that annoy every mobile user, by requiring all mobile phone users to present valid government-issued identification and documents when registering their SIMs or eSIMs.
The registration must include the full name, date of birth, gender, and address of the end-user as they appear on a valid government-issued identification document with a photo, such as a passport, national ID, GSIS e-Card, digitized SSS ID, driver's license, voter's ID, or Senior Citizen's card, among others.
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Under the regulation of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, telecommunications companies will be tasked with protecting the personal information of subscribers.
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