Bill filed to protect SIM card holders from syndicates

To crack down on mobile phone robbery syndicates, a congressman filed a bill requiring telecommunications companies to store identity profile of all Subscriber Identity Modules (SIM) card holders in the country.

But as early as now, telcos and a consumer group are opposing the plan, saying that not only the move would result in logistical problems for telcos but it would also be a step closer to resurrecting the much-opposed National ID System in the Philippines.

Congressman Simeon L. Kintanar (2nd district, Cebu) proposed in House Bill 3497 that all SIM card holders present Professional Regulations Commission certificates and other valid cards to the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) for proper identification.

Mr. Kintanar argued that SIM card registration will let telcos deliver to proper addresses the monthly billing statements of all pre-paid and post-paid mobile subscribers.

He added that listing of SIM cards would likewise reinforce the government's thrust of countering mobile phone robbery.

Currently, the government blocks the International Mobile Equipment Identification from a mobile phone network if phones were reported to have been stolen or lost.

NTC said that there have been a total of 25,492 reported cases of stolen or lost phones in 2002, which declined to 16,954 in 2003.

Over 28 percent of 80 million Filipinos have SIM cards as of September 2004.

Globe Telecoms Inc. however opposed the plan. Globe legal counsel Froilan M. Castelo told Congress this week that registration will require maintenance of database servers and even additional manpower costs to implement.

Mr. Castelo said that the proposed "logistical nightmare" would also be unreasonable as most mobile carriers sell SIM cards to distributors who may not have the money to invest in servers.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) on the other hand said that the proposed SIM registration would slow down purchase of SIM cards.

"This can be complied with but it is subject to the the operators' capability and policy," PLDT said in a statement.

The sentiments of the two telcos were supported by consumer group TXTPower, which said that registration of SIM cards would entail huge accounting and "humongous" administrative costs that telcos can easily pass on to subscribers.

"It will be an overkill. If the policemen cannot catch petty carnappers even if licenses are registered with the Land Transportation Office, we cannot be sure that policemen can catch mobile phone robbery syndicates through registration of SIM cards. It is a step closer to the National ID System," TXTPower founder Anthony Ian Cruz told Congress.

Proponents of National ID System argued that this system will let Filipinos use a single ID to avail of government services. A few years back however the project has been met with strong opposition from the public as well as lawmakers, who said that national ID can infringe on privacy of individuals.