Bringing Balance

This Marcos Administration would not be a Marcos Administration if there were no controversial legislations enacted, which makes one think, what exactly is this administration’s priorities?

First off, the SIM Registration Act, also known as Republic Act No. 11934, requires that SIM cards be registered before they can be activated. The law mandates that mobile device users must register with a SIM card, regardless of whether they are prepaid or postpaid, to mitigate cybercriminal activity. The enactment of the SIM Registration Act has encountered several obstacles and critiques, notwithstanding its original aims. Concerns have been raised by human rights and freedom of expression organizations, who contend that the legislation has the potential to encroach upon fundamental rights such as free speech, confidentiality of data, and due process. A digital petition argued that the legislation undermines the right to express oneself and has the potential to be employed for widespread surveillance (Manalang, 2022).

Filipinos are yet again hesitant to have legislation that helps in the digitalization of the country: But can we blame them?

The SIM Registration Act’s objectives make sense considering that similar legislations in other countries are also in place (Bischoff, 2023). I believe that the hesitancy to follow the legislation comes with the abruptness of the implementation as well as issues with the data collection systems in place. Naturally, Filipinos are wary and do not trust most government-initiated projects, and this is what also exacerbates the hesitancy to follow the said policy. Nonetheless, I believe that if the government was the one to invest in the implementation plan, rather than leaving it up to the telecommunication companies to do so, the execution could have been smoother for both the telecom companies and the end-users. Alternatively, they could have just sought the help of telecommunication companies to implement this regulation, rather than leave it all up to them.

This issue truly shows that the Philippines is behind on digitalization. On top of this, Filipinos are hesitant to support the platforms because no proper operations/guidelines are smoothly implemented. In one of my previous journal entries, I discussed in detail how artificial intelligence can affect us. As such, I do not think we can expect the Philippine government to pass legislation on this pressing matter anytime soon. While this is important, technology hasn’t been our strongest suit because minimal investment is allocated to this matter.

Months past now, the issue with this Act has died down a bit. I personally have lessened scam texts received ever since, but I still get one every once in a while. Surely, it is not foolproof, but I highly appreciate that it indeed regulated the use. Other than this, I do not see many effects of the SIM Registration Act months after its implementation. This also factors into the difficulty of making users see the value added to having a SIM registration process.

Overall, it is important to bring balance between its intended purpose and the protection of individual rights. It will always be a risk, but we must be confident enough to take such risks, as we can always hold agencies accountable for anything that can go wrong.

#InquiryAnalysisReflection #COBIBMO

Sophia Isabel S. Cauilan

Topic: Legal Factors