MANILA, Philippines- Sen. Richard Gordon has reiterated the need for a nationwide SIM card registration system to stop prank callers from interfering with the operations of the emergency (911) and complaint (8888) hotlines of the government. In a press release shared on his Facebook account, Gordon is urging lawmakers to urgently pass Senate Bill No. 105 or the SIM Card Registration Act.
The bill, which Gordon filed last June, was created to prevent crime and promote peace and order in the country by requiring prepaid and postpaid SIM card users to register. According to Gordon, law enforcers will be able to identify criminals particularly those involved in kidnapping and estafa through the information obtained from registration.
“There is a need to require the registration of all SIM Cards in mobile phones both prepaid and postpaid. This will promote responsibility and accountability in the use of SIM Cards in mobile phones as well as provide better law enforcement capability in protecting the public,” the senator said in his PRESS RELEASE published at WowGordon.ph.
Gordon added that registering both postpaid and prepaid SIM cards will enable authorities to easily identify prank callers who are congesting hotlines.
On its first day of activation, the government emergency and complaint hotlines received a total of 2,475 phone calls out of which 1,119 were dropped calls, 304 were prank calls and only 75 were legitimate calls. Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa vowed to track down and arrest prank callers.
Based on Gordon’s proposed measure, SIM card buyers will be required to present a valid ID with a photo and accomplish a registration form issued by the mobile phone company of the SIM card. Sellers will be must submit the accomplished registration forms to the company within 15 days from the date of sale.
Existing SIM card users will also be required to register their SIM cards within three months from the effectivity of the law. If they fail to do so, their SIM cards will be deactivated.
What is a SIM Card?
According to WiseGeek, a SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module) is a portable memory chip used mostly in mobile phones operating on the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network. SIM cards contain the personal information of the account holder such as his or her phone number, address book, text messages and other data.