Gov't urged to put SIM registration law to the test, jail text scammers

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 17) — Authorities should begin arresting and penalizing text scammers to gauge the effectiveness of the SIM Registration Law, Senator Grace Poe said Sunday.

In a statement, Poe pointed out that the law has "good provisions" that should be applied by concerned government authorities and telecommunications providers to arrest cyber criminals.

"Ang dapat talaga, pinatutupad ang batas. Kapag may nakita ang ating mga kababayan na nahuli at kinulong dahil dito nga sa mga fake registration ng SIM o nagbebenta ng pre-registered na SIM, kahit papaano mababawasan yan," said Poe, the principal author and sponsor of Republic Act No. 11934 or the SIM Registration Act.

[Translation: The law should be enforced. When the public sees someone caught and imprisoned because of fake SIM registration or selling pre-registered SIMs, at least that will be reduced.]

Poe also questioned what happened to the people behind the hundreds of pre-registered SIMs found in cybercrime hubs recently, as she stressed she is expecting a live selfie as part of the verification process in SIM registration.

"Dapat may timeline din ng pag-aksyon sa mga nire-report at may agarang feedback para naman maging mas epektibo at mabisa ang batas," Poe added.

[Translation: There should also be a timeline for taking action on those who are reported and there should be immediate feedback so that the law can be more effective and efficient.]

She added that the proposal to charge a fee on the registration of a subscriber's fourth SIM and onward must be discussed.

Poe did note, however, that authorities in charge of SIM registration should also take into account reputable businesses that need to register their employees as a group.