Mandatory SIM registration deadline in the Philippines extended by 90 days

If you’ve been worried about the looming SIM registration deadline that had been set for April 26, after which one’s SIM card could be permanently deactivated due to non-compliance, then here is some good news: the deadline has been extended for another 90 days.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla announced the extension on Tuesday, but warned that those who fail to register within this period would experience most of their mobile services “cut off.”

Mobile users in the Philippines previously had to register their SIM cards by April 26 or face permanent deactivation, based on the SIM Card Registration Act that was signed in October and took effect in late December.

However, the law does not state that government or telco providers can “cut off” or limit their access to social media if they do not register during the extended period.

The announcement comes just after major telco providers such as Globe, Smart, and DITO appealed for an extension from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) due to low registration numbers.

The last reported registration numbers were still quite low, with the National Telecommunications Commission announcing that only 45 percent, or 75.5 million out of 168 million SIM cards, have been registered as of April 20.

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