The Aquino gov’t is willing to back a law that requires SIM registration

Malacañang on Tuesday made firm their intentions of favoring proposals to register pre-paid SIM cards in the PH. According to a report by GMA, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said that the National Telecommunications Comission (NTC) has deemed it preferable to have a law on SIM card registration.

“The executive branch has manifested its support to proposed bills that are now being discussed in Congress,” Coloma said.

The move has initially met by opposition by both Globe Telecom and PLDT last year when it was initially proposed, and the the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators (PCTO) submitted a position paper to the House of Representatives last year opposing the initiative.

According to the position paper, then president of PCTO Atty. Rodolfo Salalima stated that registering over 100 million SIM cardholders will be an “administrative nightmare” and “unpractical.”

Pre-paid SIM cards are usually used by criminals for nefarious purposes, including kidnapping, fraud, extortion and blackmail, as well as for detonating bombs remotely.

At least 35 nations require SIMs to be registered with the government, and many nations require foreign visitors for their passports when buying local SIM cards.