Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 24) — Two senators on Monday played down the need to extend the SIM (subscriber identification module) registration deadline on April 26 despite calls from telecommunications players.
Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel and Sen. Win Gatchalian said in separate statements that there is “no need” to extend the SIM registration deadline.
“The object of the law is really to find out which SIMs are not being used for serious/legal/important purposes. If only 44% are worth keeping active then so be it,” Pimentel said.
Gatchalian also believed that SIM registration would “never” hit 100% of the more than 168 million subscribers.
“It is natural that the number of prepaid SIM cards will go down because people are already foregoing ownership of multiple prepaid SIM cards,” Gatchalian said.
In an interview with CNN Philippines’ Newsroom Ngayon, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Deputy Commissioner Jon Paulo Salvahan said there is no final decision yet on the possible extension.
He said the NTC had a meeting with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), telco operators, and other stakeholders on Monday to discuss the status of SIM registration.
The law allows the DICT to extend the SIM registration for up to 120 days.
Just like Gatchalian’s statement, the NTC official said that the government does not expect to reach full SIM registration.
As of April 23, the DICT said mobile operators logged over 82.84 million SIM registrations.
“If you fail to register, automatically deactivated na ang inyong SIMs (your SIMs are automatically deactivated),” he said.
Meanwhile, in a radio interview on Monday, DICT Secretary Ivan Uy said there would be a “final meeting” with telcos on Tuesday where they would announce whether there would be an extension.
When asked if an extension is possible, Uy replied: “Opo. May pag-asa po.”
[Translation: Yes, it’s a possibility.]
