DICT urged to back SIM card registration measure

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Economic Affairs Committee, pressed yesterday the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to drum up support from the hierarchy of the telecommunication industry for the passage of legislation seeking the mandatory registration of prepaid subscriber identity module (SIM) cards.

Gatchalian is the author of Senate Bill No. 203, the “SIM Card Registration Act,” which will require all prospective buyers of prepaid SIM cards to present a valid photo ID before they can complete their purchase.

Old SIM cards, on the other hand, should be registered within 180 days from the effectivity of the proposed law.

“We’re calling on DICT Secretary Rodolfo Salalima to push for the approval of this proposal,” Gatchalian said as he drew attention to Salalima’s background and his connections in the telecommunications (telcos) industry.

“I remember that during his confirmation hearings, Secretary Salalima assured members of the Commission on Appointments (CA) that he would support this bill. Tingnan natin ang magiging aksyon niya,” he said. (We will see how he acts on this issue.)

Prior to his appointment to the DICT, Salalima served as Chief Legal Counsel and Senior Vice President for Corporate and Regulatory Affairs of Globe Telecom.

Salalima also formerly worked as Vice President and head of Legal and Human Relations at the International Communications Corporation, later renamed as Bayantel; and as a Board Director and Corporate and Chief Counsel of Radio Communications of the Philippines (RCPI). He was also a former president of the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators (PCTO).

Gatchalian expressed hope that Salalima would faithfully exercise his duties as DICT secretary despite his close ties to telecom insiders.

He recalled that as Globe’s legal counsel, Salalima objected to the mandatory registration of prepaid SIM cards and cited how this would greatly reduce the sales of prepaid SIM cards and affect the income of telcos.