DICT sets up one-stop-shops for SIM registration IDs

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is setting up one-stop shops in remote areas allowing subscribers to secure valid IDs required for the SIM (subscriber identity module) card registration.

Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Anna Mae Lamentillo, in a virtual event organized by Smart Communications Inc. on Wednesday, said they had asked the Department of Justice to place booths in remote areas where the public could obtain National Bureau of Investigation clearances.

She said this could solve the problem of lack of valid government-issued ID.

The private sector has raised the need to speed up the issuance of the national ID to support the SIM card registration initiative.

“While some may find it inconvenient because of the requirements, these are actually necessary because our goal is to deter crime, to prevent those who want to perpetrate crimes by taking advantage of the anonymity of SIMs,” Lamentillo stressed.

The DICT is now working with other government agencies, including the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the Department of Interior and Local Government, in finalizing the guidelines for the facilitation of SIM registration in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA).

GIDAs are estimated to be 27 percent of the barangays in the country. As of Jan. 16, NTC data showed that 21.13 million SIM cards have already been registered. The figure represents 12.5 percent of the subscribers across the country. The bulk is accounted for by Smart with 10.38 million, followed by Globe Telecom, 8.96 million,  and DITO Telecommunity, 1.78 million.

Meanwhile, Lamentillo assured the public that the SIM registration measure was being implemented in conjunction with the data privacy rules. She explained the telcos were responsible in ensuring the safety of the mobile subscribers’ personal data.

Lamentillo said “breach of confidentiality and breach of confidentiality due to negligence is punishable under the law.”

“It has always been our advocacy to take the lead and do what is right by our customers, work with the NPC (National Privacy Commission) and mobilize the entire organization by setting the tone for our people to respect and protect privacy in the way we design our products and services,” Smart chief data privacy officer Leah Besa-Jimenez said.

Existing mobile subscribers have until Apr. 26 to comply with the measure to avoid the deactivation of their SIM cards.

“We call on everyone’s cooperation, because the sooner we are able to accomplish the SIM registration, the sooner we can experience the protection of the law and its other benefits,” she concluded. INQ