| Inquirer file photo
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu – Make sure to have your Sim cards registered ahead of the April 26 deadline set by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
Unregistered Sim cards would automatically be deactivated after April 26.
As of today, Lawyer Alan Felix Macaraya, legal officer of the National Telecommunications Commission in Central Visayas office (NTC-7), the DICT has not approved any deadline extension despite appeals made by their office and some telcos.
Macaraya said their head office already wrote DICT earlier to ask for an extension of the Sim card registration deadline. As of this writing, the national government agency has not responded to their request.
NTC’s appeal for a deadline extension is also supported by telcos like Smart, Globe, and DITO.
Republic Act No. 11934 or the SIM Card Registration Law mandates the registration of all Sim cards on or before April 26, 2023, which is already eight days from now.
READ: Haven’t registered your SIM card yet? Here’s how
“Actually, as of now, wala pa gyud mihatag ang DICT [og notice of deadline extension] kay under R.A. 11934 which is the SIM Card Registration Act, it is supposed to be the DICT [ang] mohatag ug go signal, ug mohatag to extend. Extend ba nila ug 120 days, 90 days, 30 days. So kami naghuwat rami sa DICT kung mo-extend ba sila or dili,” Macaraya said.
To date, Macaraya said that NTC has so far registered 42.88 percent of the 168,016,400 Sim card users in the country.
The bulk of those who have registered or about 53.78 percent are Smart users while 35.77 percent are Globe users. The remaining 35.17 percent are DITO users.
With the low registration rate, Macaraya is urging the public not to wait for the April 26 deadline to have their Sim cards registered.
Macaraya said that registering the Sim cards ahead of deadline would also prevent experience server traffic that may delay the registration process.
“Most probably, mao na among gikahadlokan nga pagka-abot sa two days, one day [before the deadline] nga mahuman ang sim registration kay ang volume sa registration ana dako kaayo. I don’t think so nga makaya na sa system sa telcos nga morehistro ug 30 milyones sa usa ka adlaw,” he said.
Marylou Gocotano, Smart Group Corporate Communications Visayas Relations head, confirmed that after April 26, they would already start to deactivate all the unregistered sim cards.
“Balikon gyud nato ang kahasol ba, nga connected nana sa imong online transactions, unya mopalit napod ka ug balik,” Gocotano said.
To further hasten the registration process, Gocotano said they have partnered with a fast-food chain, wherein they installed a kiosk and booth to assist customers in having their sim cards registered.
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