The Philippines government revealed only 36.79% of SIM cards had been registered before the hard deadline set for this month when unregistered SIMs will be deactivated.
In a statement, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) detailed that as of April 7, only 62,170,268 SIM cards out of 168,977,773 were registered by mobile operators Globe Telecom, Smart and Dito Telecommunity.
Unregistered SIM cards will be cut off from usual service, making them unusable for voice calls, text messaging and data services, stated DICT. The regulator emphasised there will be no deadline extension.
DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said current registration progress had been “encouraging” but urged citizens to “maintain momentum”.
“While the progress in SIM card registration has been encouraging, we must not lose momentum. As we celebrate Easter Sunday, we urge all unregistered citizens to take this opportunity to register their SIMs.
“It is crucial to take immediate action to prevent the inconvenience of deactivation. Together, let us strive for a more connected and secure Philippines,” said Uy.
DICT revealed over 30 million SIM cards were registered in February, which equates to around 17.76% of total subscribers. The Philippines government implemented its SIM registration law to combat hackers and digital fraud, as the Philippines steadily becomes a more connected nation.
