Group warns government against amending SIM registration law

MANILA, Philippines — An advocacy group championing consumer rights has cautioned the government against amending the SIM registration law, saying that the proposal to limit SIM ownership will mean nothing if law enforcement remains weak and incapable of going after fraudsters.

“The impact of regulating the number of SIMs one can register will just be an inconvenience to fraudster,” said CitizenWatch convenor Orlando Oxales. “It is so easy to bypass such restrictions because there are many ways scammers can gain other ‘unique’ identities.”

Oxales said that such fraudsters do not usually act on their own but are usually part of a group of organized cybercriminals who resort to identity theft and other sophisticated tactics to pursue their aim.

“What we really need is an enforcement system that goes after scammers, not more laws to burden consumers with,” he said.

A senator has proposed the amendment of the SIM law so that an individual can have a maximum of 10 SIMs, saying having 10 is more than enough for various purposes and transactions.

A desire to have more than this number will merit a separate registration process, with telecommunication companies determining if the applicant really needs more SIMs.

The proposal also considers making the possession of numerous unregistered SIMs a criminal act.

Oxales believes that the proposed amendment will unduly burden legitimate consumers like businesses that need to deploy multiple SIMs for internal communications and online transactions that are essential for operations.

Oxales said that more focus should be on engaging cybersecurity experts and invest in strengthening the government’s enforcement capacity to fight the relentless attacks of perpetrators of scams, disinformation and other cybercrime activities.

“To significantly enhance deterrence, we propose to increase both the imprisonment terms and fines for these fraudsters and organized cybercriminals such as removing the current option of choosing between imprisonment or a fine,” Oxales proposed.

Oxales further suggested that a database for ID verification should be established to accurately cross-check the identity of applicants for SIM registration as it will be helpful for telcos and can even be used for any instance when verification of one’s identity is required.