Facilitated SIM registration to kick off in Iloilo town this week

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The National Telecommunications Commission-Region 6 (NTC-6) on Monday announced that the first in-person Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) registration in the region will be held on Friday, Jan 27, 2023 in Carles, Iloilo.

Personnel from all three Public Telecommunications Entities or PTEs (Smart, Globe, DITO) will be present to facilitate mobile users’ registrations, which will be conducted at the Carles Gym.

“All concerns [on SIM registration] will be facilitated and assisted by the [PTEs] to ensure that [the public] will be able to register their SIMs,” said NTC-6 officer-in-charge Leah Doromal.

“[PTEs] will have their own representative experts to assist, so they may also have facilities to make the SIM registration process easier,” she added.

The registration is open not only to Carles residents, but also to residents of other neighboring areas, including Balasan and Estancia towns and Roxas City, among others.

“Not all municipalities will be visited. This facilitated registration is only done in identified concerned remote areas,” said NTC-6 legal officer Deo Virgil Tan.

The public is advised to bring their government-issued valid identification documents (IDs), and their mobile phones with their active SIMs plugged in where the One-Time Personal Identification Number (PIN) or OTP will be sent to for the verification process.

As to the next locations, Doromal said that this would be identified by the NTC central office in coordination with relevant task forces which will identify the areas of concern.

Doromal said that they will announce the next areas once they are confirmed, with added coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police.

Section 4(f), Rule II of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 11934 (SIM Registration Act) issued by the NTC via Memorandum Circular No. 001-12-2022 mandates PTEs together with the NTC, the DILG, the, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Department of Education (DepEd), to “facilitate all SIM registrations in remote areas with limited telecommunication or internet access.”

SIM registration for existing users started last December 27, in accordance with the provisions of Rep. Act No. 11934, and is slated to end on April 26, 2023, unless extended by the DICT.