Photo illustration of a SIM card provided by mobile network companies in the Philippines. Gigie Cruz, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said it may extend the timeframe allowed for reactivating SIMs that are still unregistered even after the 90-day extension of the deadline for registration.
The SIM Registration Act allows the reactivation of deactivated SIMs within 5 days, but DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said the government may still "adjust" this.
He reiterated that if a SIM has still not been registered after 90 days, it will be deactivated all of its services will be cut.
"It is just a last chance opportunity, putol na sila, wala nang service, but they still can register. Diyan yung leeway... 90 days but since we are still allowed [extension for up to] 120 days, maaaring diyan kami mag-adjust," Uy told Palace reporters.
"Perhaps not 5 days, maybe 10 days, or 2 weeks to allow them to apply for reactivation. At this time, definitely, putol na 'yung mga SIM nila by 90 days," he said.
Only 82.2 million or nearly 50 percent of the 168.9 million total active SIMs in the country have so far registered.
Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual earlier said SIMs are important in the country's shift to digital economy, and it may impact transactions.
Telcos have said the lack of IDs and low digital literacy were among the factors keeping many users from registering their SIMs.
Uy, for his part, said barangay IDs are also accepted for SIM registration. Subscribers can even visit their barangay halls to register their SIMs, he said.
"So barangay is already the most—the lowest government agency ‘no or government entity and it’s—they’re fully accessible by all the residents within that barangay. So, a barangay-issued ID is a government ID, and they can just go to the barangay to do it," he said.
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. earlier in the day approved the DICT's recommendation to extend the SIM registration, which was supposedly only until Wednesday.
Video from RTVM