IN October 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law Republic Act (RA) 11934, or the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card Registration Act. This became the first law that President Marcos signed since becoming the country's chief executive.

The law was passed to address the proliferation of spam and scam messages that have been targeting subscribers. SIM-related fraudulent activities and smishing, short for SMS phishing, occur when scammers send text messages to mobile phone users, tricking them into sharing personal information, making money transfers or getting involved in malicious schemes.

Under RA 11934, telco companies and direct sellers require valid identification documents before selling SIM cards. Those who already have SIM cards were required to register with their respective telcos within a certain time frame. Telecommunication companies were also required to keep subscriber SIM cards on file.

However, nearly two years since this law was passed, subscribers continue to receive numerous spam and scam messages. Even worse, scammers who commit smishing continue to adapt in their fraudulent activities to target unsuspecting phone users.

Recent smishing reports include voice cloning incidents where individuals mimicked the voices of relatives to unlawfully collect personal information for illicit purposes and fake traffic violation notices via text, purportedly from the Land Transportation Office. Government agencies have also uncovered how easy it is for others to register their SIM cards using a fake identity.

I articulated in a column last year the potential of the SIM Card Registration Act being used by the government to streamline bureaucratic services. However, since the implementation of the law, there have been a lot of concerns about the efficiency of the implementation.

Through my dealings and communication with some people from the government, I came across some impressive innovations that the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has developed, which could help address the implementation gaps of the SIM Registration Act.

In my previous column on this topic, I emphasized how the experts who are implementing the SIM Card Registration Act should continuously study the infrastructure that would be built behind it. The application of the principles of privacy law must also continue to evolve and adapt to the advancements of technology and changing times.

Recently, the DICT came up with a series of recommendations to address the execution challenges of the SIM Card Registration Act.

In a briefer, the DICT said that it has developed the national ID verification system "eVerify" with the Philippine Statistics Authority. The National ID eVerify is a swift and reliable electronic verification procedure that enables organizations to remotely authenticate a customer's identity without the need for physical documents or in-person encounters.

The DICT said that the process is fast, secure and capable of verifying over 40 different types of government IDs. Government agencies, employers and companies, banks and financial institutions, and schools and universities can all use the system. The digital procedure includes features such as identity theft prevention, electronic know your customer and even facial recognition using eGov AI.

In a move to eradicate fraudulent activities done via SMS and to ramp up their data protection and security, the DICT said it would urge public telecommunications entities (PTEs) to make use of the National ID eVerify system.

Aside from this, the DICT is also planning to coordinate with the National Telecommunications Commission, Department of Trade and Industry, National Privacy Commission and PTEs in launching an information campaign on the sanctions for all fraudulent acts involving the SIM Card Registration Act.

The DICT has also made plans to coordinate with PTEs and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center to report all cases of fraudulent schemes involving SIM card registration.

It is my hope that these continuous actions by our government will fill in the gaps in the implementation of the SIM Card Registration Act, and Filipino mobile phone users will be granted the proper protection from smishing and digital fraud.