By Nimfa Estrellado January 28, 2023 Engr. Arnold Barcelona, NTC OIC Regional Director; (2nd from Left), with Engr. Dennis Gallares, NTC OIC...
January 28, 2023
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| Engr. Arnold Barcelona, NTC OIC Regional Director; (2nd from Left), with Engr. Dennis Gallares, NTC OIC-Chief of the Enforcement and Operations Division Regional Office IV-A during assisted SIM Registration program in Rosario, Batangas on January 26, 2023. (Photo by Sentinel Times) |
CALABARZON - The National Telecommunication Region IV-A (NTC IV-A) has started its assisted SIM Registration program in first pilot area in CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) with an event called “Para sa panatag na Lipunan, SIM-registered ako. Sim-registered lahat tayo!” on Thursday, January 26, 2023.
The NTC IV-A led the SIM registration in collaboration with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the National Privacy Commission (NPC), the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement authorities, public telecommunications entities (PTEs), and local government units (LGUs), to help curb rising electronic communication-aided criminal activities in the Philippines, such as mobile phishing, text spams, online scams, bank frauds, and identity theft.
NTC IV-A chose one pilot area in each region of the country, and the town of Rosario in Batangas Province was chosen as the pilot area in Region IV-A.
On January 25 and 27, the roll-out of assisted SIM registration for the 15 identified remote locations in various provinces began in Rosario, Batangas, at the Luancing Covered Court, Barangay Poblacion located behind the municipal building.
In an interview on Thursday, Engr. Arnold Barcelona, NTC OIC Regional Director, Rosario was chosen as the first pilot area because they wanted to reach out to more remote areas. However, it was too far away, so it was relocated to the city to increase registration.
“For three days, all regions were distributed so that the three PTEs were not tied up in a single region,” he said.
SIM registration booths and touchpoints have been set up by Smart, Globe, PLDT, and DITO. This is in addition to its mission of assisting Smart and TNT customers who need help registering their SIM cards, as well as physically assisting customers with special conditions, such as senior citizens, people with disabilities, and those still using basic phones.
These booths will be part of the Philippine government's simultaneous roll-out of SIM registration activities in geographically isolated, disadvantaged, and conflict-affected areas (GIDCA). NTC has already identified 45 remote areas spread across 15 different regions.
Furthermore, PLDT was said to be planning a Landline Number Registration soon.
The event was successful. Rosario Municipal Mayor Leovigildo Reyes said it was an honor for the Rosario residents that the town had been selected as the first pilot area in Batangas Province, and the region as well.
SIM registration is not only for people who cannot connect to the internet or who still use basic phones; it is also for people who are unable or have difficulty registering their own SIM cards.
In these projects, barangays work with NTC IV-A to inform residents in remote areas about SIM registration. For those who are unable to attend the SIM registration, he stated that registration is still taking place with the telcos in their offices in the mall and other areas.
On the other hand, NTC IV-A reminds the public that SIM registration is free and confidential, and that they should not trust strangers who offer registration assistance, whether paid or not.
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