SIM REGISTRATION. A Globe personnel assists a mobile user in registering his SIM card during an NTC press conference at the NTC Building in Diliman, Quezon City on Jan. 6, 2023. Mobile users who lost or had their SIM cards stolen may request to have it reactivated in a new SIM card with their telecommunications provider. (PNA photo by Robert Alfiler)
MANILA – Mobile users who lost or had their subscriber identity module (SIM) card stolen may request to have it reactivated in a new SIM card with their telecommunications (telecom) provider, an official of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Thursday.
In a Laging Handa briefing, DICT spokesperson and Undersecretary Anna Mae Lamentillo said registered mobile users would need to bring a valid ID and an affidavit of loss of their SIM card to their telecom provider to request a new SIM card.
The process would be similar to a SIM card deactivation and change of ownership request.
“Dahil nga po may batas na po tayo, bago ninyo po iyan ibigay, kailangan po i-inform muna natin iyong mga telco (telecoms company) natin na magkakaroon po ng change of ownership (Because of the new law, before we can give a SIM card away, we need to inform our telco about the change of ownership),” she said.
The new owner of the SIM card will then need to complete their registration and submit requirements with the telco, she added.
She noted that the use of stolen SIM cards is considered a crime and will result in jail time and fines.
Meanwhile, she said the inter-agency ad hoc committee on SIM registration, made up of several government agencies and telcos, will finalize the guidelines on the rollout of SIM registration in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
As of Wednesday, a total of 21,782,509 SIM cards have so far been registered nationwide, making up about 12.89 percent of all active SIM cards in the country.
Earlier, the DICT announced its intention to seek one-stop shops for National Bureau of Investigation clearance in remote areas to help promote SIM registration.
An NBI clearance may be used by a mobile registrant who has no other government-issued ID. (PNA)
