The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has failed to effectively implement the SIM Registration Act, allowing scammers to continue victimizing people.
According to a senator, the alleged failure of the NTC also made it easy for illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) to undertake their fraudulent activities.
Senator Win Gatchalian said the NTC has been lenient in enforcing the SIM Registration Law, which he claims has led to a surge in scamming activities conducted via text messaging.
“The NTC should do its job of ensuring effective implementation of the SIM registration law,” Gatchalian stated.
He emphasized that the primary goal of the legislation “is to provide accountability for those SIM card users” and to aid law enforcement in tracking down criminals using phones to commit fraud.
“But because the NTC has apparently forgotten its responsibility, scammers in the POGO industry continue to use SIM cards unabatedly,” he added.
The senator noted that recent police raids on POGOs have consistently uncovered large quantities of SIM cards used for fraudulent activities.
He pointed out that raids on Smartweb Technology Corp. in Pasay City, Zun Yuan Technology in Bamban, Tarlac, and Lucky South 99 in Pampanga revealed “a significant number of SIM cards that are being used for fraud and scamming purposes.”
During the raid at the Zun Yuan POGO hub, authorities discovered SIM cards registered under false identities, along with various phones and scripts intended for scamming.
“Authorities said the SIM cards were being used in undertaking love scams, cryptocurrency scams, and other investment scams,” Gatchalian noted. In the raid on Lucky South 99, investigators found not only SIM cards but also various phone devices, drugs, and torture implements.
Gatchalian underscored that Republic Act 11934, also known as the SIM Card Registration Act, was created “with the main objective of reducing, if not eliminating, scams perpetrated through text or online messages.”
However, he pointed out that since the law’s enactment on 10 October 2022, “scamming activities have risen significantly, contrary to expectations.”
Nonetheless, many citizens have branded the SIM Registration Law as a flawed piece of legislation that only exposed to theft the data of smartphone users collated by telecommunication companies.