Poe seeks probe into persistence of text scams amid SIM Registration Law implementation

Senator Grace Poe has filed a resolution seeking a legislative inquiry into the persistence of text scams despite the implementation of the SIM Registration Law.

Poe has filed proposed Senate Resolution 745 amid the continued proliferation of text scams and the reported use of SIMs in illegal operations of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

“Almost a year since the law has passed and despite the termination of existing SIM registration, text scams, and other mobile-related frauds continue to proliferate,” the senator said in the resolution.

“Recent raids on POGO establishments revealed that thousands of SIMs were used for illegal operations,” she added.

The sponsor of the SIM Registration Law in the Senate mentioned the seizure of more than 80,000 SIMs in a raid in one POGO hub in Las Piñas City as well as the reported 28,000 registered SIMs which were recovered in another POGO raid in Pasay City.

“[T]hese reports that thousands of registered SIMs seized are being used as a tool for scamming and other cyber frauds raises questions about the effective implementation of the law,” she said.

“The implementing agencies, telecommunication companies, and law enforcement agencies should explain how thousands of SIMs used in fraudulent operations were able to register and if they are registered using fictitious individuals or by willing victims who sell their identity,” she added.

Poe said the National Telecommunications Commission, Department of Information and Communication Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, and other relevant government agencies tasked to implement the law should submit to Congress a report and updates on the law’s implementation.

In October 2022, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. approved the measure which seeks  to end crimes using the platform including text and online scams by regulating the sale and the use of SIMs through mandating registration to end-users.—AOL, GMA Integrated News