CEBU CITY, Philippines – Five days before the deadline for SIM card registration, the Philippines has reached about 62-percent registration out of the total 168 million subscribed SIM cards.
Engr. Royden Rusiana, Department of Information and Communications Technology in Central Visayas (DICT 7)-Cebu Provincial Officer and Cybersecurity Focal, told CDN Digital on Thursday, July 20, that this turnout constitutes a high percentage of registration, considering that not all subscribed SIM cards remain active.
“Posible taas-taas na na siya nga percentage on the actual active users, kay wala man gud na gibutang dinha nga active gyud na sila or wala na. Ang ilaha is ‘subscribed’ ra man,” he said.
“So, ang atong bana-bana, kanang 62 percent, kung tan-awon nato na sa actual nga nigamit g’yud karon, medyo taas-taas na g’yud na siyang porsiyentoha kay naa may uban nga tagsaon ra og gamit, labi na ng mga scammers ba nga ka usa ra mugamit, pang-ilisdan na nila,” he added.
From the total number of registered SIM cards, Rusiana said about 4 to 5 million registered SIM cards are from users in Central Visayas.
Meanwhile, Rusiana continues to appeal to the public who have yet to register their SIM card to do so and make use of the ongoing facilitated SIM card registration initiative of the DICT and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
READ: Haven’t registered your SIM yet? DICT-7 can help
He then called on parents to take advantage of the school break to register the SIM cards of their children who do not yet have valid IDs.
“Ang challenge kaayo karon kay kadto nalang mga ginikanan nga ilang mga anak gagmay pa. Usa na sa mga challenges kay nalibog tingali na sila kung unsaon nila kay way may ID, mao ng manghangyo pod ta sa mga local government units nga muabag pod sila sa paghatag og awareness sa ilang mga Facebook pages,” he said.
Rusiana said parents may register on behalf of their children.
ANOTHER DEADLINE EXTENSION?
Moreover, since January 2023, the DICT 7 has facilitated the SIM card registration of more than 1,000 senior citizens and residents from from geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) through its field offices in Cebu, Siquijor, Negros Oriental, and Bohol.
He said there is no pronouncement yet if there would be another extension for the SIM registration.
The original deadline was set last April 26. It was moved to July 25 days before the original deadline.
“Pero murag naa man toy pronouncement na daan, before pa sa July 25 extension… nga murag mo extend og 90 to 120 days for the GIDA site so naa pa tingali na. Hopefully nga naa pa jud nay mga clarifications nga ma extend ang mga specific nga mga areas katong mga identified sa mga LGUs nga lisod gyud ang signal. Most likely, subjected to extension gyud to sila,” Rusiana added.
/bmjo
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