The government and the telecommunications companies must ensure that the mandatory registration of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) will be convenient, secure and inclusive to end users, Senator Grace Poe said Monday.
"The SIM registration should be as easy as texting or sending a message," Poe, chairperson of the Senate public services committee, said in a statement a day before the implementing rules and registration of the SIM Registration Act takes effect.
Further, Poe said the system must also accommodate people in need of assistance such as persons with disabilities, senior citizens, minors, pregnant, and those without internet connection, "We can reap the SIM Registration law's full potential with an effective implementation, and we must do it together as a nation," Poe said.Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian warned the public against a scam using virtual wallets such as GCash ahead of the rollout of the SIM Registration Law.
“Ipinaglaban natin ang pagsasabatas ng SIM registration sa nakalipas na maraming taon dahil gusto nating protektahan ang mga gumagamit ng SIM laban sa panloloko ng cyber criminals. Kailangan nating abisuhan ang ating mga kababayan na mag-ingat nang husto laban sa mga sari-saring pambibiktima ng mga kawatan,” Gatchalian, co-author of the SIM Registration Law, said.
The law mandates all public telecommunications entities or direct sellers of SIM cards to require users to present a valid identification document with a photo upon purchase.