AN OFFICIAL of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Central Visayas said he is yet to be notified about the 90-day extension of the SIM card registration.
"I cannot comment yet really on that until such time there is an official statement from the DICT I receive," said DICT 7 Director Frederick Amores on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, during the Openline News Forum in Cebu City.
He told the public to continue thinking of the April 26 deadline, as he is still awaiting the official notice from the DICT central office or the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
Amores said he is quite surprised that the announcement was made through the secretary of the Department of Justice and not by the DICT.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla made the announcement during an inter-agency task force meeting on the Mindoro oil spill on Tuesday morning, April 25, in Malacañang.
Meanwhile, representatives from local telecommunications companies have said that they will support the government's decision to extend the SIM registration period for three months.
"Whatever the final decision is, whether it is a 90-day registration extensions period, rest assured we will support you in this registration campaign," said Rofil Sheldon Magto, regional corporate communications manager for Vismin of Globe Group.
As of April 24, around 39.9 million Globe SIM cards have so far been registered. This is 46 percent of Globe’s total 86.7 million subscribers.
Smart, which confirmed that 39.94 million or 60.25 percent of its total subscribers were able to register their SIM cards as of Sunday, April 23, also expressed support to the SIM card registration extension.
"We are still to receive official orders. But whatever order, we are here -- PLDT, Smart, TNT, to support the government to the success of the SIM Registration Act," said Marylou Gocotano, Visayas Relations head of PLDT and Smart CorpComms.
Both of the telecom giants said they are making every effort to help their customers register their mobile numbers, particularly those who are finding it difficult to do so on their own.
Globe, for instance, said that aside from placing SIM registration assistance booths in several educational institutions, they are also planning to bring it to the public markets in the region.
"Even in the farthest islands, ato na naadtoan — Camotes, Bantayan," said Magto, adding that they have been assisting their customers in malls since the registration started.
Smart confirmed that it is partnering with a large fast-food chain to further bring the SIM registration assistance booths in different places in the country.
Gocotano said they have been putting up assistance booths in different festivals in the country.
"For example, during festivals, we make sure nga naa tay SIM registration booths," she said, adding that they will also put up booths during the Saulog Festival in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
The Saulog Festival is scheduled on April 30 but it has started to bring huge crowds in several pre-Saulog activities since March.
DICT 7 has said that it also took the matter in hand. Currently, there are SIM registration assistance booths in the different provincial offices in Central Visayas.
Since the inception of the DICT 7 SIM registration booths on Monday, April 24, 2023, they already catered a total of 534 individuals.
Of the number, 205 were from Siquijor, 204 in Bohol, Cebu with 87, and the Negros Oriental booth has served 38 individuals.
Amores noted that most of those who dropped by at the SIM registration booths to ask for help are elders.
The telecom giants emphasized that if the SIM registration deadline has truly been extended, the public are still good to register their SIM cards via online through their websites and mobile applications.
They said they have already anticipated that a number of users will register at the last minute, as the registration deadline is set on April 26. (KJF)