Congressman Richard Gomez, representing the 4th district of Leyte, reacted quite vehemently when the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) last week urged local officials to raise awareness and encourage their constituents to register their SIM cards starting December 27.
DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. noted that local government units (LGUs) will play a critical role in informing the public, adding that a massive information drive must be launched in the grassroots to educate mobile subscribers on the importance and requirements of the SIM Card Registration Act.
“As we seek to ensure public safety even in the online space, I encourage LGUs to exert all efforts to promote responsible use of SIM cards, educate their stakeholders on the benefits of mandatory SIM card registration, and guide them through the whole registration process,” Abalos said in a press statement.
He said the SIM Registration Act will aid the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other law enforcement authorities in curbing rising electronic communication-aided criminal activities in the country such as mobile phishing, text spam, online scams, bank frauds, and identity theft.
Last week, the National Telecommunications Commission released the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 11934, or the SIM Registration Act after it was signed into law by President Marcos Jr. in October.
Subscribers have 180 days starting December 27 to register their new and existing SIM card. SIM cards that will not be registered will be deactivated.
Congressman Gomez reminded the DILG secretary against asking LGUs to lead the information campaign for the registration of SIM cards as it is not provided by the law.
Gomez pointed out that under Republic Act 11934 or the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act, it is the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) that is the lead agency in this effort.
"It is the responsibility of the DICT and the telecommunication companies to implement the registration of SIM cards, including informing the public the whys and the dos. Why give the burden of letting the public know about the pros and cons of the measures, and the registration methods, to the LGUs when these already have so many tasks at hand?" he said.
He added that telecommunication companies should not burden the LGUs since the former are the ones which earn hundreds of millions of pesos a day from mobile phone users.
"They (telcos) are much richer than most LGUs. They should take care of their own business and their own problems because their profits are all theirs to keep and enjoy,” Gomez said.
We agree with Congressman Gomez. If the telcos like Smart and Globe can pay "revolutionary tax" to the NPA, they can always pay for an info campaign on the SIM registration.