DICT Extends SIM Card Registration Period for 90 Days

The Philippine Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) has announced a 90-day extension of the registration period for SIM cards, citing a need for more time to address low turnouts in some provinces.

“We discovered that some of the low turnouts were in the island provinces, like Dinagat, Siquijor, and Camiguin islands, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan. So when it was presented, the President noticed that we need to put in more effort to deploy teams to these island provinces to address the low turnout,” DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said.

Uy also explained that the move is expected to bring in an additional 20 million registered SIM cards. As of Sunday, over 82 million out of the 168 million active SIM cards nationwide have already been registered, leaving around 50 million unregistered.

 (PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler)

The DICT secretary warned that this 90-day extension is the final chance for registering all active SIM cards. Those who remain unregistered after an extended period may see their SIM cards deactivated.

To encourage registration, the DICT is exploring various measures, including gradually deactivating some services of unregistered SIMs, such as social media accounts.

“Let’s say after 60 days, you will lose access to your Facebook accounts or your Tiktok accounts. But you can still use your phones; you can still call, you can still text, then after a certain time, you will lose your outgoing calls,” he said.

Uy also warned that this extension might lead to increased text scams, encouraging all sim card users to register immediately.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the DICT’s recommendation to extend the SIM card registration period, noting that 20 million unregistered SIMs remain significant. The SIM Card Registration Act allows a maximum extension of 120 days, but the DICT decided that 90 days is a reasonable enough time for everyone to register their SIM cards.