» \
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE } 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
} 
F irst R egular Session 
}
S E N A J E
S.B. No. ^
(©ffll? of .Ik  
'I ' t/II P
'19 JUL -8 All ‘42
-----------------------------------------------------------RCCtl,..
In tro d u ced  by SENATOR VICENTE C. SOTTO III
AN ACT
TO ERADICATE MOBILE PHONE-AIDED TERRORISM 
AND CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES MANDATING FOR THIS PURPOSE 
OWNERSHIP REGISTRATION OF ALL PRE PAID SIM CARDS FOR
CELLULAR PHONES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Mobile phone technology evolved over the years since its inception 
using analogue system that started wireless telephony until it turned digital. 
Such revolution in the technology continues to advance with the emergence 
of smart phones that brings out not only the delivery of better services for 
telecommunication producing crisp voice reception, real time SMS delivery, 
but countless of other digital services like Long Term Evolution (LTE) or 4G 
capable of handling and transferring large size of data making remote access 
to bank accounts, payment facilities and countless of other remote 
technological innovations, integrated into a digital SIM card utilized by 
mobile phones, at everyone's fingertips.
The benefits of having this kind of technology however, do not always 
work for the betterment of the society. It has become a common practice for 
modern-day criminals and terrorists to take advantage of the mobile phone 
technology in carrying out their illegal activities, particularly phones using 
pre-paid SIM cards due to their nature of being unregistered and 
untraceable.


The use of pre-paid SIM in this country has flourished considering 
that this can be purchased practically anywhere by anybody without any 
required identification and credit background restrictions, making it very 
convenient to avail of cellular sendees in an instant.
In the Philippines, subscriber base of pre-paid SIM cards grew 
dramatically each year reaching an estimated number of almost 100 million, 
which comprise about 90% of the entire cellular phone seiwice market. This 
definitely 
makes 
such 
technology 
as 
a 
favored 
tool 
in 
the 
commission of crimes by both the organized and small-scale criminals alike.
It has been confirmed by investigators in the Philippine National 
Police in their number of reports over the recent years that perpetrators of 
bombings in public places in various parts of the country made use of 
cellular pre-paid phones to trigger the defusing of bombs that killed and 
injured many innocent victims.
This kind of threat has alarmed our law enforcers compelling 
them to work with major telecommunication companies to either shut down 
or weaken the transmission of cellular phone signals in certain areas during 
major social events that can draw the gathering of thousands to millions of 
crowds, in order to avoid remote defusing of bombs using cellular phones. 
Such occasions of restricting cellular signals were enforced during the Black 
Nazarene procession in Quiapo and the recent Papal visit in the country, to 
name a few.
Moreover, events of kidnappings involve the use of prepaid cellular 
phones to get in touch with families of the victims as well as law enforcers to 
communicate and relay demands, and each call maintained anonymity.
It won’t be long that financial frauds, as another form of criminal 
activity utilizing pre-paid SIM cards, will soon emerge to victimize the public 
as newly developed SIM cards now come with an e-wallet seiwice that can be


used to purchase cellular credit loads, pay utility bills, order food in 
restaurants, and shop in establishments.
Criminal use of wireless technology is a global problem, in other 
countries wherein the use of prepaid mobile lines are likewise rampant, 
have started requiring not only ownership registration but also mandating 
service providers to integrate security devices to counter criminal activities.
This piece of legislation primarily intends to be an effective remedial 
measure to mandate cellular seiwice providers to require the registration of 
all prepaid cell phone subscribers by asking valid ID at purchase, and in 
turn start build databases and come up with profiles of these buyers the 
same way police detectives profile criminal suspects to easily detect criminal 
perpetrators.
I 
therefore urge my colleagues to support the passage of this 
important measure as viable means of eradicating pre-paid cellular aided 
crimes.
VICENTE C. SOTTO III


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE } 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
}
F irst R egular Session 
}
S E 
S.B. No.
frt. ^  O U
fx- 
'B eiA i ?
J J ttiii of ilje © r n f t n r j )
'19 
JUL -8  
All -42
REt-U
In tro d u ced  by SENATOR VICENTE C. SOTTO III
AN ACT
TO ERADICATE MOBILE PHONE-AIDED TERRORISM AND CRIMINAL 
ACTIVITIES MANDATING FOR THIS PURPOSE OWNERSHIP 
REGISTRATION OF ALL PRE PAID SIM CARDS FOR CELLULAR PHONES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
Philippines in Congressed Assembled:
1 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as “SIM CARD
2 
REGISTRATION ACT
3 
SECTION. 2. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act, the following
4 
terms shall mean:
5 
(A) SIM 
(subscriber 
id en tity  
m odule or subscriber 
id en tificatio n
6 
m odule) Card - is an integrated 
circuit chip that is intended 
to
7 
securely store the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSl)
8 
number and its related key, which are used to identify and
9 
authenticate subscribers on mobile telephony devices.
10 
(B) C ellular Phone-A ided crim es - shall mean any crime committed
11 
with the use of SIM card attached to a device such as mobile phone.
12 
(C) T hird p a rty  reseller - shall mean any sale/transfer that did not
13 
emanate directly from the seiwice providers are considered third
14 
party reseller.
15 
SECTION 3. Prepaid SIM Card R egistration - In order to neutralize the
16 
rampancy in cariying out of cellular phone-aided crimes, such as but not
17 
limited to: bombings with the use of cellular pre-paid phones to trigger the
18 
defusing of bombs; text scams; unsolicited/unwanted indecent or obscene


1 
messages; deceptive messages, all mobile phone service providers shall
2 
require ownership registration as pre-requisite to selling pre-paid SIM cards
3 
on the guidelines set forth in Section 4: Provided, however, that owners of
4 
active pre-paid SIM acquired prior to the implementation of the Act shall
5 
likewise undergo the same registration process before the activation of their
6 
cellular seiwices in the succeeding credit reload.
7 
SECTION 
4. 
R egistration 
Guidelines. 
- 
The 
National
8 
Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in close coordination with the
9 
Department of Trade and Industiy (DTI) and Telecommunication Companies
10 
and in consultation with 
major Consumer Groups with 
national
11 
membership, shall formulate the necessaiy guidelines in the proper
12 
implementation of the pre-paid SIM card registration process based on the
13 
following parameters:
14 
I 
Submission of duly accomplished owner’s registration form;
15 
2. Submission of government issued identification cards and/or other
16 
valid IDs or other similar forms of government issued documents that
17 
will duly identify the pre-paid SIM card buyer, and in case of an alien
18 
tourist, a copy of his/her passport;
19 
3. Each buyer can only register up to three (3) pre-paid SIM cards across
20 
all service providers; owners of more than three (3) prepaid SIM cards
21 
prior to the implementation of this Act will be given the option to
22 
either discontinue or transfer the ownership of the excess pre-paid
23 
SIM;
24 
4. Active pre-paid SIM cards acquired prior to the implementation of this
25 
Act that fail to be registered within (15) days from its intended credit
26 
reload as provided for in Sec. 3, shall automatically be deactivated by
27 
the concerned cellular service provider; and
28 
5. A registered SIM card owner should at least be fifteen (15) years of
29 
age.
30 
SECTION 5. R egistration 
by Representatives. ■ Ownership of more
31 
than three (3) SIM Cards shall be allowed provided the buyer is a
32 
parent/legal guardian, registering for and in behalf of his/her minor


1 
children/ward; company or bulk purchases in behalf of the Corporation
2 
agency.
3 
SECnON 6. 
Submission of R egistration Form. - The registration
4 
form required under Section 4 of this Act shall be accomplished in triplicate,
5 
and shall be forwarded by the direct seller of the SIM card to the concerned
6 
mobile phone service provider. The concerned mobile phone service provider
7 
shall submit a copy of the duly accomplished registration form to the
8 
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) within fifteen (15) days
9 
from the date of sale or receipt of such form from their respective direct
10 
sellers. The required registration form and the copies thereof shall be
11 
certified by either, the President, General Manager, Treasurer, Secretary or
12 
any other duly appointed officer of the mobile phone seiwice provider or
13 
direct seller, as the case may be.
14 
SECTION 7. Submission of Verified List of Dealers or Agents. -
15 
The mobile phone seiwice providers shall submit to the NTC, within thirty
16 
(30) days from the date of effectivity of this Act, a verified list of their current
17 
authorized dealers or agents nationwide. 
Thereafter, the mobile phone
18 
service providers shall submit to the NTC, every quarter of each year, an
19 
updated list of the same.
20 
SECTION 8. Obligation an d  Liabilities of Third P arty Resellers -
21 
Within three (3) days from the receipt of a completed ownership, all third
22 
party resellers of pre-paid SIM cards must turn-over to the respective service
23 
providers the records and accompanying documents of the buyers. Any
24 
reseller that will engage in the sale of fraudulently-registered or stolen pre-
25 
paid SIM cards shall be held criminally liable.
26 
SECTION 9. Confidentiality Clause. - Any information in the SIM
27 
card registration shall be treated as absolutely confidential, unless upon
28 
written consent of the subscriber: 
Provided, That the waiver of absolute
29 
confidentiality shall not be made as a condition for the approval of
30 
subscription agreements with the mobile phone seiwice providers.
31 
SECTION 10. Disclosure of Inform ation. - Notwithstanding the
32 
provisions of Section 9 hereof, the mobile phone service providers shall be
33 
required to provide information contained in the SIM card registration only


1 
upon order of a competent court upon finding of probable cause that a
2 
particular number is used in the commission of a crime or that it was
3 
utilized as a means to commit an unlawful act.
4 
SECTION 11. 
SIM Card Register. - All mobile phone service
5 
providers are required to submit an updated SIM Card Register of their
6 
subscribers to the NTC eveiy six (6) months of both postpaid and prepaid
7 
mobile phone users, and maintain a record containing information required
8 
under Section 4 of this Act.
9 
In case of loss or any change in the information after the acquisition
10 
of the SIM card, the 
subscriber must notify the mobile phone service
11 
providers within thirty (30) days from such loss or change. The concerned
12 
mobile phone service provider in return must notify the NTC of such loss or
13 
change in the information within fifteen (15) days from receipt of notification
14 
from the subscriber.
15 
All mobile phone service providers are required to keep the data of
16 
their subscribers and the NTC shall see to it that this data is being kept with
17 
utmost confidentiality as provided for under Section 9 of this Act and in
18 
accordance with existing laws.
19 
SECTION 12. R egistration of Existing Prepaid Mobile Phone
20 
Subscribers. -  All existing mobile phone subscribers with prepaid SIM
21 
cards are required to register with their respective mobile phone service
22 
providers within one hundred eighty (180) days from effectivity of this Act.
23 
Such deadline may be extended by the NTC but shall not be longer than one
24 
hundred twenty (120) days upon a valid written request.
25 
Failure to register within the prescribed period shall authorize the
26 
mobile phone seiwice providers to automatically deactivate its services to the
27 
specific existing prepaid SIM card subscriber.
28 
SECTTON 13. Reportorial Requirements and Internal Rules and
29 
Regulations. - To ensure that all stakeholders will comply with the proper
30 
enforcement of the provisions of this Act, the DTI is hereby mandated to
31 
oversee its implementation for the next three (3) years and shall submit to
32 
Congress report of compliance. For this purpose, the DTI and the NTC shall
33 
set the guidelines for the monitoring of the proper implementation of this


1 
Act and shall issue the necessaiy implementing rules and regulations
2 
wishing thirty (30) days upon its effectivity.
3 
SECTION 14. Penalties. - Any person or entity who violates any
4 
provision of this Act shall, upon conviction, be penalized by imprisonment
5 
for a maximum period of one year, or a fine of not less than P50,000 nor
6 
more than P300,000; or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion
7 
of the court.
8 
SECTION 15. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
9 
after its publication in the Official Gazette and at least two (2) national
10 
newspapers of general circulation.
Approved,