A tweet placed on a meme-like graphic reminded Filipino mobile phone users to register their SIM cards before the looming deadline on April 26.
Under the new SIM Registration Act, all mobile phone users are required to register their SIM cards with their respective telecommunication companies.
SIM registration portals of Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, and Dito Telecommunity are open since December 27.
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Last March 3, a Facebook account called Klasik Titos and Titas of Manila posted a graphic that featured a tweet that joked about the month of March as “short.”
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The tweet reads: “Mabilis lang ‘tong March. Tignan mo, bukas wala [nang] signal ‘tong mga SIM natin.”
In the post itself, the Facebook account told its followers: “Taas kamay sa di pa registered ang sim, next month na po deadline.”
The SIMs of mobile phone users who have failed to register on time will automatically be deactivated. The subscribers themselves may also face severe penalties as prescribed by law.
The post has since garnered 14,000 reactions, 573 comments and 2,700 shares so far.
In the comments section, several Facebook users thanked the Facebook account in jest for the reminder.
“Yung bigla akong napa-register nung nabasa ko to…May pa-free data, text, and call pala si Smart kaya register na!” one mobile phone user said.
“Thank you for reminding pero makakalimutan ko ulit maya-maya lang,” another Pinoy said on Facebook.
“Buti nakita ko to. Thank you for reminding [me]. Pero mag scroll up lang. Di parin mag reregister,” another Facebook user said.
The graphic soon reached the forum r/Philippines.
One Redditor posted it to remind the members of the subreddit about the new requirement on SIMs.
“…oo nga pala no,” the post reads.
Several Redditors there admitted that they have yet to register their SIMs. Others were surprised that the April 26 deadline is getting nearer.
Some of them, meanwhile, noted that the implementation of this law was faster than the delivery of their national IDs.
“Mas nauna pang na-implenta itong SIM registration kaysa sa pagdedeliver ng PhilSys ID at pag-produce ng ePhilID online na magtatatlong-taon na. Kahit man lang ePhilID, mas madali lang yun i-beripika kaysa sa ibang government-issued IDs,” one Redditor said.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the primary government agency tasked to implement the law, said that it is eyeing to extend the deadline.
As of March 9, the DICT said that only 25% of the 169 million SIMs nationwide were registered with their respective telecommunication providers.
