EVEN NOW that subscriber identification module (SIM) cards are mandatorily registered, a senator expressed alarm on Thursday that a number of them are still being used by illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).
On Tuesday, Senator Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares filed Senate Resolution No. 745, seeking an inquiry on whether or not the SIM Registration Law has been fully implemented since being enacted in October last year.
“The law mandates that SIM should not be used for unlawful purposes and that owners have verified identity,” Ms. Poe-Llamanzares, who heads the Senate committee on public services, said in a statement.
The law requires mobile phone users to register their SIMs under their names or risk deactivation in a bid to deter text scams and other criminal activities done through mobile phones.
“However, reports that thousands of registered SIMs seized are being used as a tool for scamming and other cyber fraud raise questions about the effective implementation of the law,” the senator said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
