The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has issued new guidelines that will require subscribers to send live photo selfies for SIM card registration.
Ella Blanca Lopez, the NTC Commissioner, said that her office released a new memorandum order (MO) that will require live selfies when registering new SIM cards.
The NTC’s new guidelines are meant to stop dubious registrations that make use of fake IDs with monkey and anime pictures. Globe, Smart, and DITO are given until December 18, 2023 to comply and implement the live photo selfie requirement.
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Senator Aquilino Pimentel III raised the issue about the monkey with a fake PhilHealth ID previously exposed by the National Bureau of Investigation.
Pimentel emphasized that the SIM registration law was created for “human beings,” not just anyone with an identification card.
According to the NTC Commissioner, the law was made to prevent text scams. However, many scammers are still able to get away with it by using fake IDs.