NTC urged to strictly enforce SIM registration law

The authorities have logged more fraudulent activities involving mobile numbers despite the enactment of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) registration law, Senator Win Gatchalian said Monday.

Gatchalian mentioned the retrieval of a substantial number of SIM cards during the series of raids against Internet Gaming Licensee (IGL), formerly known as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

Hence, Gatchalian urged the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to “rigorously enforce provisions” of the Republic Act 11934 or the SIM Card Registration Act, which was signed into law in December 2022.

“During the execution of a warrant to seize and examine computer data from the raided Zun Yuan Technology Inc. on March 22 and 23,

Gatchalian lamented the authorities were able to recover assorted sim cards, along with hundreds of cellular phones and digital devices, during their execution of a warrant to seize from the recently raided POGO hub, Zun Yuan Technology Inc., on 22 and 23 March.

“This illustrates the extent of scamming activities being carried out by POGOs. It is not the first time this has happened. In fact, many SIM cards have already been confiscated in previous raids on POGOs/IGLs,” said Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.

Despite having RA 11934, Gatchalian said legitimate SIM card users continue to receive text messages aimed at defrauding unwitting subscribers.

The groups behind many scamming activities in the country could be related to POGOs/IGLs, he added.

“It is alarming to note that unscrupulous individuals or groups continue to commit fraud and various scamming activities even after the measure was passed into law,” he said.

“This goes to show that we have yet to achieve the purpose of this legislation, and it is the job of the NTC to ensure that provisions of this law are implemented thoroughly,” he added.

Gatchalian emphasized the measure is intended to establish accountability in the use of SIM cards and deter the use of SIM-related technology in various scamming activities.