NBI-7 hails SIM card registration law

CEBU, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas has welcomed the full implementation of the SIM Card Registration Act on December 27, 2022 citing that most crimes they had handled stem from unregistered SIM cards.

NBI Central Visayas Director Rennan Augustus Oliva said that the law was a big help to the NBI and all law enforcement agencies.

He stated that not only cybercrimes but as well as other forms of crimes, such as extortion and illegal drug activities, in which payments were through the use of unregistered numbers.

Oliva could not provide exact figures on how many crimes came from unregistered SIM cards they have handled. But he said it is a common scenario among most cases, particularly cybercrime cases that they have.

"We have encountered so many cases nga walay identity...makuha nimong number when we get way identity kun kinsay owners sa SIM," said Oliva.

The SIM Card Registration Act, otherwise known as the Republic Act 11934, was signed into law on October 10, 2022, by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

It entails a mandatory registration of SIM cards as a prerequisite to their activation.

Meanwhile, all existing SIM subscribers are also mandated to register their SIMs with their respective Public Telecommunications Entities (PTEs) at least 180 days from the law's effectivity.

Last Monday, the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) released the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the law, stating subscribers who would not comply with the rules would have their SIM cards deactivated.

Otherwise, PTEs who do not register a subscriber's SIM card may be fined up to P1 million.

Oliva said it is a great development as it would be much easier for them to track down criminals using prepaid SIMS in their transactions.

Cybercrime lab

Oliva also announced that their Digital Cyber Crime Laboratory might be operational soon.

He said last week, some NBI personnel from Manila delivered them a piece of equipment that they could use in the operation of their laboratory.

He added that two more pieces of equipment would be delivered to them between the first or second week of January next year.

According to Oliva, these machines are capable of extracting all deleted messages, videos, and transactions, on smartphones, even the reformatted ones.

Dominador Cimafranca, the assistant regional director of NBI-7, added that the machines could also detect all SIM card identities or numbers used by the suspected phone.

But Oliva reiterated that a cyber warrant in accordance with the cybercrime law is still needed to use the equipment in suspected phones to extract pieces of evidence. —Romeo D. Marantal (FREEMAN)