The House of Representatives’ committee on information and communications technology has approved the consolidated bill requiring the mandatory registration of all postpaid and prepaid mobile phone SIM cards.

All similar bills pertaining to SIM card registration are now under House Bill 14.

Under House Bill 14, every public telecommunications entity (PTE) or authorized seller shall require an end-user to accomplish and sign in triplicate a numbered registration form issued by the PTE.

The said form contains the subscriber’s name, date of birth, gender, mobile number, serial number, and address in accordance with his/her valid IDs.

Moreover, the form also contains an attestation that the person appearing before the seller is the same person who accomplished the document and that he presented valid identification cards.

Consequently, the PTE or its authorized seller shall not sell a SIM card if the end-user refuses to comply with the registration requirement, which will also apply to foreigners.

As for all the details provided, they will be treated as absolutely confidential. Only an order from a court of law or law enforcement agency can request for such.

All SIM cards sold or issued before the effectivity of the proposed SIM Card Registration Act will also be required to be registered.