Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 
Introduced by Honorable Michael L. Romero 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
In the Republic of the Philippines, the time has now come to regulate the sale and 
distribution of SIM cards in order to foster end-user accountability, prevent the 
proliferation of mobile phone scams and data breaches, and to assist law enforcement 
agencies in resolving crimes involving the use of mobile phone units.  
SIM card registration is often introduced in a legal void. According to Global system for 
Mobile Communications (GSMA), only 59% of countries mandating SIM card registration 
have a privacy and/or data protection framework in place.  In the absence of 
comprehensive data protection legislation and oversight, SIM users' information can be 
shared and matched with other private and public databases, enabling the state to create 
comprehensive profiles of individual citizens, and enabling companies and third parties 
to access a vast amount of data. SIM registration is being taken to the next level and 
incorporating biometric registration in some countries, such as fingerprints and facial 
recognition. 
This means that the data processing required for the creation of a biometric subscriber 
database will also often occur in a legal void, so that information collected as part of 
September 6, 2022
2:24 pm
4475


registration today could be kept for an indefinite amount of time and used for different 
purposes in the future, as technology, corporate incentives, or governments change. 
Earnest approval of this bill is hereby requested. 
MICHAEL L. ROMERO


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO._____ 
Introduced by Honorable Michael Romero 
AN ACT 
REQUIRING THE MANDATORY REGISTRATION OF ALL 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". 
SECTION 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, it is illegal or malicious 
use endangers people's lives, damages property, poses hazards to public order, and even 
threatens the security of the entire nation. 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 
SECTION 3. DEFINITION OF TERMS. — As used in this Act: 
4475


a) Direct seller refers to a person, natural or juridical, who directly 
dispenses or sells a SIM card an end user; 
b) End user refers to any individual/ subscriber who directly 
purchases a SIM card from a direct 
seller; 
c) Postpaid subscription refers to the subscription wherein service 
is provided by virtue of a prior I 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 transferrable 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. 
 
SECTION 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. 
SECTION 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 ID. 
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 or any other 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 (131); or 
(vi) School registration and ID for students. 
 
SECTION 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. 
 
SECTION 7. SUBMISSION OF VERIFIED LIST OF DEALERS OR AGENTS. — The VTF, 
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. 
 
SECTION 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. 
 
SECTION. 9. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION. — Notwithstanding the provisions of 
Section 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. 
SECTION 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. 
22 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 arc acquired to keep 
the data of their subscribers and shall ensure that this data is kept with utmost 
confidentiality. 


SECTION 
11. 
REGISTRATION 
OF 
EXISTING 
PREPAID 
MOBILE 
PHONE 
SUBSCRIBERS. — All existing mobile phone subscribers with prepaid SIM cards are 
required to register with their respective VIE within one hundred eighty (180) days from 
the effectivity of this Act. An extension period of no longer than one hundred twenty (120) 
days shall be allowed upon a valid written request to the Department of Information and 
Communications Technology (DICT)-Failure to register within the prescribed period shall 
authorize the PTE to automatically deactivate its services to the concerned prepaid SIM 
card subscriber. 
 
SECTION 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 VIE, 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 Il imposed without prejudice to the filing of an appropriate criminal, 
civil and administrative case. 
 
SECTION 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. 
 
SECTION. 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. 
 
SECTION 15. 
PROGRESS REPORT – The Commissioner of the NTC shall prepare 
an annual report on the status of the implementation of the Simcard Registration 
Program which shall be submitted, through the Secretary of the DICT, to the President 
and to the Chairpersons of the Committees on Defense of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives. 
 
 
SECTION 16. 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. 
SECTION 17. 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. 
 
SECTION 18. EFFECTIVITY. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved,