State considering compulsory SIM registration to combat crime

The chairman of the Philippines’ Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), Ivan John E Uy, has said that the government is considering options to implement a compulsory registration scheme for mobile SIM cards to address ‘security concerns’ in the country. The official points to similar schemes in place in a number of other countries, but notes that it would be a costly exercise. Uy, who is reputed to be an expert on cyber crime, is quoted as saying that the non-registration of SIM cards is causing a headache to many people. ‘It’s allegedly used by criminal elements in their illegal activities,’ Uy said. The regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission, originally proposed SIM registration back in 2000, when the country only had two million cellular phone subscribers.