DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The regional office of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC-XI) has proposed to ease the telephone companies’ requirement of valid government identification (ID) cards from citizens as the deadline for SIM (subscriber identity module) card registration extends to 90 more days.
The deadline was initially set on April 26 but the low turnout of registration of around 40 percent prompted authorities to extend the registration.
NTC-X1 Director Nelson Cañete said most of the registrants, especially in rural communities, had difficulties registering their mobile numbers because many of them do not have valid IDs.
“Ingon nako basi og pwedi nga marelax gamay, nga ginaistoryahan karon nga basig pwedi nag sedula or barangay certification certifying nga kini nga tawhana resident sa kini nga barangay (I said maybe we can ease it. There’s also a suggestion to accept cedula or a certification from barangay that the [sim card holder] is a bona fide resident),” Cañete said during the Media Forum at the Habi at Kape Wednesday, April 26.
But he clarified the said suggestions are still subject to the decision of the national office and they are still waiting for the next directives covering the 90-day extension before relaunching the registration campaign.
Cañete urged the public to maximize the extension period to process valid government IDs and ensure sim registration to avoid the deactivation of their sim cards.
Under the Law, acceptable valid IDs or any similar form of documents with photos that will verify the identity of the end-users include but are not limited to, the following: passport, Social Security System ID, Government Service Insurance System e-card, driver’s license, National Bureau of Investigation clearance, police clearance, Firearms’ License to Own and Possess ID, Professional Regulation Commission ID, Integrated Bar of the Philippines ID, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration ID, Bureau of Internal Revenue ID, Voter’s ID, Senior Citizen’s card, Unified Multi-purpose ID, Person with Disabilities card, or other valid government-issued ID with photo.
Cañete said there is a total of 50 million targets. In the next 90 days, their agency hopes to reach the estimated 30% to 40% of remaining unregistered sim card subscribers in urban communities and plans to revisit rural communities with low registration due to heavy rains or weak signals.
The agency also targets to reach out to senior citizens, mothers, and persons with disabilities, as well as the youth and residents in urban communities, which according to Cañete had the lowest turnout and a low number of registrants, respectively.
NTC-XI partners with various local government units and agencies to effectively meet the quota. (davaotoday.com)
philippines, sim registration
