WITH a little over two weeks left before the deadline of the subscriber identification module (SIM) card registration, the Department of Information and Communications Technology said that the number of people that enrolled have yet to reach half of the total of 168,977,773 million total subscribers nationwide.
According to the latest data from the DICT, it said that as of Easter Sunday, only 64,114,057 SIMs have been registered.
This represents 37.94% of SIMs across the country.
It however showed more than two million in increase in the registration from Good Friday, April 7, 2023.
The DICT said that DITO Telecommunity Corp. has 4,818,170 million SIMs; while Globe Telecom Inc. with 27,257,428 million; and Smart Communications Inc. with 32,038,459 million.
Earlier, the DICT said that the April 26, 2023 deadline would remain in place.
Earlier, DICT Undersecretary Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo admitted that they do not expect a 100-percent turnaround because all SIM cards used for scams will voluntarily be deactivated.
The SIM Card Registration Act, signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on December 27, 2022, mandates that all PTEs should establish their respective registration platforms to onboard users who present valid identification cards.
SIM card users or subscribers of the telcos were given 180 days or until April 26, 2023 to register their SIM cards, else face the risk of having these deactivated.
Telcos had been ramping up their registration campaign assisting the government and the local government units.
Catherine R. Cueto
