NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
)
First Regular Session
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. ____
Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE VIRGILIO S. LACSON
EXPLANATORY NOTE
As our lives depend more on mobile communications and technology, the use of
phones has become an indispensable part of human’s daily life. Usage of these devices
entail the use of what we call the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card.
These cards are able to store contact information, messages, call information, and
many more details. Despite the importance of these cards, regulations around it remain lax.
It is accessible from direct sellers without any form of identity documentation procedure.
The unregulated system for the sale of SIM cards paves the way for various illegal activities
such as scamming, kidnapping for ransom, extortion of money, harassment, among others.
This bill seeks to establish a system of sale and registration of SIM Cards through
mandatory recording of pertinent data of the SIM Card buyer and to require Public
Telecommunications Entities (PTES) and direct sellers to maintain a registry that shall serve
as the repository of all their subscribers' information.
It is high time that this legislative body enact a registration mechanism or
platform that will regulate the sale of SIM Cards to prevent the commission of illegal acts,
which are made possible through the anonymity offered by the lack of a system.
For the foregoing reasons, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
July 27, 2022
1:00 pm
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NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
)
First Regular Session
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. ____
Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE VIRGILIO S. LACSON
AN ACT
REQUIRING THE REGISTRATION OF SUBSCRIBER  IDENTITY MODULE CARDS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in  Congress
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the  “Subscriber Identity Module
(SIM) Card Registration Act”.
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State recognizes the vital role of information and
communications technology in nation  building and encourages its growth and development.  It is
equally cognizant that beneficial as modern technology is, the illegal or malicious use endangers
people’s lives, damages  property, poses hazards to public order, and even threatens the  security
of nations. 
Thus, there is a need to promote accountability in the  use of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)
card and provide law enforcement agencies the tools to resolve crimes which involve its 
utilization and the platform to deter the commission of wrongdoings. 
Towards this end, the State shall require the registration of SIM cards by all users. 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act:
(a) Direct seller refers to a person, natural or juridical, who  directly dispenses or sells a
SIM card to an end user;
(b) End user refers to any individual/subscriber who directly purchases a SIM card from a
direct seller;
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(c) Postpaid subscription refers to the subscription wherein  service is provided by virtue
of a prior arrangement with a public telecommunications entity, and the end user thereof
is billed at the end of the monthly billing cycle according to the use of mobile service; 
(d) Prepaid subscription refers to the subscription wherein credit is purchased in advance
of service use. The purchased credit is used to pay for mobile phone services at the point
the service  is accessed or consumed. If there is no available credit, then access to the
requested service is denied; 
(e) Public Telecommunications Entity or PTE refers to any  person, natural or juridical,
government or private, engaged in  the provision of telecommunications services to the
public for  compensation;
(f) SIM refers to the Subscriber Identity Module which  is an embedded circuit that
securely stores international mobile subscriber identity and related keys used to
identify and authenticate subscribers on mobile devices, such as mobile  phones and
computers; 
(g) SIM card refers to a removable card into which an electronic integrated circuit is
embedded and is transferable between different mobile devices; and 
(h) SIM card registration refers to the process of  recording and verifying mobile phone
number and personal information of a subscriber, by a PTE or other direct seller,
including the subscriber’s full name, date of birth, gender, and address.
SEC. 4. Sale and Registration of SIM Cards. – Every PTE or  direct seller shall require
the end user of a SIM card to  present a valid identification document with photo to ascertain the
latter’s identity. The PTE or direct seller shall further require the end user to accomplish and sign
a control-numbered registration form issued by the respective PTE of the SIM card purchased. 
The registration form shall include an attestation by the end user that the person appearing before
the direct seller is the same person who accomplished and signed the registration form and  that
the identification documents presented are valid and correct. Failure of an end user to comply
with the requirements under this section shall be a ground for the PTE or direct seller to refuse
the  sale and issuance of a SIM card.  
Except in cases where the PTE is the direct seller, the accomplished registration form
must be submitted by the direct  seller to the concerned PTE within fifteen (15) days from the
date of  sale. Failure on the part of the direct seller to comply under this section shall constitute a
violation of this Act.
SEC. 5. Coverage of Registration. – All direct sellers are hereby mandated to register the
following information in the SIM card registration form: 


(a) Full name, date of birth, gender, and address of the end user appearing in a valid
government-issued identification document with photo. SIM card end users shall be
required to present the original copy of any of the following valid government 
identification document (ID) with photo: 
(1) Passport; 
(2) National ID; 
(3) Digitized Social Security Service (SSS) ID;
(4) Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) e-Card;
(5) Driver’s license
(6) Firearms’ License to Own and Possess (LTOP) ID;
(7) Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) ID;
(8) Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) ID;
(9) Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) ID;
(10) Digitized Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) ID;
(11) Voter’s ID; 
(12) Senior Citizen’s card; 
(13) Person with Disabilities (PWDs) card; or
(14) Other government-issued IDs. 
In the absence of any of the above IDs, a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
clearance, police clearance, or a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) certified birth
certificate with an ID  picture taken within the last six (6) months prior to the purchase of 
a SIM card shall suffice. The direct seller may make further inquiries or require the
submission of additional identification, if necessary. The purchase of a SIM card may be
withheld pending   submission of the additional requirements; 
(b) Assigned cell phone number of SIM card and its serial number.  
In the case of end users who are foreign nationals, they shall  register their full name,
passport number, and address in the SIM card registration form upon presentation of the
following:
(1) For foreign nationals visiting as tourists for not more than thirty (30) days: 
(i)
Passport; 
(ii)
Proof of address in the Philippines; and 
(iii)
Return ticket to own country of the tourist or any other ticket showing the date
and time of departure from the Philippines.  
(2) For foreign nationals staying for more than thirty (30) days either as workers or
students: 
(i)
Passport; 


(ii)
Full name as indicated in the passport; 
(iii)
Proof of address in the Philippines; 
(iv)
Alien Employment Permit issued by the Department of Labor and Employment
(DOLE); 
(v)
Alien Certificate of Registration Identification Card or  ACRI-Card issued by the
Bureau of Immigration (BI); or
(vi)
School registration and ID for students. 
SEC. 6. Submission of Registration Form. – The registration form shall be accomplished
in triplicate, and forwarded by the direct seller to the concerned PTE. The required registration
form and copies thereof shall be certified by the direct seller  or any other duly appointed officer
of the PTE. 
SEC. 7. Submission of Verified List of Dealers or Agents. – The PTE shall submit to the
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), within thirty (30) days from the date
of effectivity of this Act, a verified list of their current authorized dealers/agents nationwide. The
PTE shall submit to the NTC every quarter of each year an updated list of the same. 
SEC. 8. Confidentiality Clause. – Any information in the SIM card registration shall be
treated as absolutely confidential, unless access to information has been granted upon written
consent of the subscriber: Provided, That the waiver of absolute confidentiality shall not be made
a condition for the approval of subscription agreements. The confidentiality clause in the SIM
card registration shall take effect at the point of sale.
SEC. 9. Disclosure of Information. – Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8 hereof
and in accordance with Section 12(e) of Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise known as the “Data
Privacy Act of 2012”, the PTE shall be required to disclose the full name  and address contained
in the SIM card registration, upon a duly issued subpoena or order of a court upon finding of
probable cause, or upon written request from a law enforcement agency  in relation to an ongoing
investigation, that a particular number is used in the commission of a crime or that it was used as
a means to commit an unlawful act. 
SEC. 10. SIM Card Register. – All PTEs are required to  maintain a SIM Card Register of
their subscribers containing information required under Section 5 of this Act. In case of loss of a
SIM card or any change in information contained in the registration form after purchase of the
SIM card,  the subscriber shall notify the PTE within forty-eight (48) hours from such loss or
change in information. All PTEs are required to keep the data of their subscribers and shall
ensure that this data is kept with utmost confidentiality. 
SEC. 11. Registration of Existing Prepaid Mobile Phone Subscribers. – All existing
mobile phone subscribers with prepaid SIM cards are required to register with their
respective  PTE within one hundred eighty (180) days from the effectivity of this Act. An


extension period of not longer than one hundred twenty (120) days shall be allowed upon a valid
written request to the Department of Information and Communications Technology  14 (DICT). 
Failure to register within the prescribed period shall  authorize the PTE to automatically
deactivate its services to the concerned prepaid SIM card subscriber. 
SEC. 12. Penalties. – The following penalties shall be imposed for failure to comply with
any of the provisions of this Act:
a) If the offense is committed by a PTE, the President and other responsible officers of the
PTE shall be held liable, and the following penalties shall be imposed: 
(1)
First
offense:
a
fine
not
exceeding Three hundred thousand  pesos
(P300,000.00); 
(2) Second offense: a fine not exceeding Five hundred  thousand pesos
(P500,000.00) and 
(3) Third and subsequent offenses: a fine not exceeding One million pesos
(P1,000,000.00) for every offense;
(b) If the offense is committed by a direct seller, a penalty of suspension of its operation
and a fine of Five thousand pesos  (P5,000.00) to Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) shall
be imposed; and 
(c) If the offense is committed by an officer or employee of an implementing agency
under this Act, a penalty of suspension or dismissal from service and a fine to be
determined by the court shall be imposed without prejudice to the filing of an appropriate
criminal, civil and administrative case. 
SEC. 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). – Within ninety (90) days from the
effectivity of this Act, the NTC, in coordination with the DICT and other concerned agencies,
shall promulgate the rules and regulations and other issuances as may be necessary to ensure the
effective implementation of this Act. 
SEC. 14. Transitory Provision. – Only direct sellers who have been duly authorized by
the PTEs and the NTC shall be allowed to sell prepaid SIM cards. Upon the effectivity of this
Act, all PTEs are mandated to recall all prepaid SIM cards for sale to the public by those
establishments not authorized by it. Otherwise, they shall be liable for the penalties prescribed
in this Act. 
SEC. 15. Separability Clause. – Should any part of this Act be declared unconstitutional
or invalid, the other provisions hereof that are not affected thereby shall continue to be in
full force and effect. 


SEC. 16. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, rules
and regulations, and issuances, or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this
Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
SEC. 17. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved,