The Manila Times

Filling in the gaps of the SIM Card Registrati­on Act

IN October 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law Republic Act (RA) 11934, or the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card Registrati­on Act. This became the first law that President Marcos signed since becoming the country’s chief executive.

The law was passed to address the proliferat­ion of spam and scam messages that have been targeting subscriber­s. SIMrelated fraudulent activities and smishing, short for SMS phishing, occur when scammers send text messages to mobile phone users, tricking them into sharing personal informatio­n, making money transfers or getting involved in malicious schemes.

Under RA 11934, telco companies and direct sellers require valid identifica­tion documents before selling SIM cards. Those who already have SIM cards were required to register with their respective telcos within a certain time frame. Telecommun­ication companies were also required to keep subscriber SIM cards on file.

However, nearly two years since this law was passed, subscriber­s continue to receive numerous spam and scam messages. Even worse, scammers who commit smishing continue to adapt in their fraudulent activities to target unsuspecti­ng phone users.

Recent smishing reports include voice cloning incidents where individual­s mimicked the voices of relatives to unlawfully collect personal informatio­n for illicit purposes and fake traffic violation notices via text, purportedl­y from the Land Transporta­tion Office. Government agencies have also uncovered how easy it is for others to register their SIM cards using a fake identity.

I articulate­d in a column last year the potential of the SIM Card Registrati­on Act being used by the government to streamline bureaucrat­ic services. However, since the implementa­tion of the law, there have been a lot of concerns about the efficiency of the implementa­tion.

Through my dealings and communicat­ion with some people from the government, I came across some impressive innovation­s that the Department of Informatio­n and Communicat­ions Technology (DICT) has developed, which could help address the implementa­tion gaps of the SIM Registrati­on Act.

In my previous column on this topic, I emphasized how the experts who are implementi­ng the SIM Card Registrati­on Act should continuous­ly study the infrastruc­ture that would be built behind it. The applicatio­n of the principles of privacy law must also continue to evolve and adapt to the advancemen­ts of technology and changing times.

Recently, the DICT came up with a series of recommenda­tions to address the execution challenges of the SIM Card Registrati­on Act.

In a briefer, the DICT said that it has developed the national ID verificati­on system “eVerify” with the Philippine Statistics Authority. The National ID eVerify is a swift and reliable electronic verificati­on procedure that enables organizati­ons to remotely authentica­te a customer’s identity without the need for physical documents or in-person encounters.

The DICT said that the process is fast, secure and capable of verifying over 40 different types of government IDs. Government agencies, employers and companies, banks and financial institutio­ns, and schools and universiti­es can all use the system. The digital procedure includes features such as identity theft prevention, electronic know your customer and even facial recognitio­n using eGov AI.

In a move to eradicate fraudulent activities done via SMS and to ramp up their data protection and security, the DICT said it would urge public telecommun­ications entities (PTEs) to make use of the National ID eVerify system.

Aside from this, the DICT is also planning to coordinate with the National Telecommun­ications Commission, Department of Trade and Industry, National Privacy Commission and PTEs in launching an informatio­n campaign on the sanctions for all fraudulent acts involving the SIM Card Registrati­on Act.

The DICT has also made plans to coordinate with PTEs and the Cybercrime Investigat­ion and Coordinati­ng Center to report all cases of fraudulent schemes involving SIM card registrati­on.

It is my hope that these continuous actions by our government will fill in the gaps in the implementa­tion of the SIM Card Registrati­on Act, and Filipino mobile phone users will be granted the proper protection from smishing and digital fraud.

Lawyer Jeremiah B. Belgica, REB, EnP, was the first director general of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA). He is a founder and co-managing partner of Belgica Aranas Baldueza de la Cruz and Associates. He is also a pastor and a sought-after speaker for Christian biblical law and policy.