The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Wednesday said it will not extend the deadline for the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card registration.
In a statement, DICT said it received a request from telecommunication companies seeking to extend the April 26 deadline but there will be no extension.
"With the 26 April 2023 registration deadline drawing near, we encourage everyone to register to promote responsible SIMs and provide law enforcement agencies the necessary tools to crack down on perpetrators who use SIMs for their crimes, consistent with the declared policy of the law," it said.
The agency reminded the public that failure to register will lead to the deactivation of their SIMs and eSIMs, which will consequently disable them from receiving and sending calls and text messages as well as accessing applications and digital wallets.
"The DICT reiterates that the SIM Registration Act places primacy on the fundamental rights of Filipinos and is replete with safeguards to ensure the confidentiality and security of user data," DICT further said.
Based on the latest monitoring of the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) as of April 18, 74,182,402 out of 168,016,400 mobile users in the country have successfully registered their SIM Cards.
SMART has recorded 36,558,127 registered SIM cards.
Meanwhile, about 32,224,277 users are now registered in GLOBE and 5,399,998 in DITO.
