SIM card registration extended for 90 days

Theregistration for the subscriber identity module (SIM) cards will be extended for another 90 days or until July 25, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla announced on Tuesday.

However, after the April 26 deadline, subscribers will have limited access to services until they finally register.

“Most of the services will be cut off with the telcos (telecommunications companies). So, there will be a social media unavailability for those who do not register in the next 90 days,” Remulla said in an interview after attending a Cabinet cluster meeting.

Senator Grace Poe, meanwhile, called for a boost in information dissemination of Republic Act (RA) 11934 or the SIM Registration Act now that the deadline has been extended.

Poe, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Services, said the extension would help clarify the confusion and concerns of registrants regarding the law.

“It should be emphasized that SIMs will still be available in local retailers and sari-sari stores even past the SIM Registration deadline. Users will simply be required to register first before they can activate their new SIMs,” she said in a statement as she welcomed the decision to extend the registration.

“SIM registration was meant to promote the responsible use of SIM and to halt the abuses of scammers and criminals. It is not meant to punish legitimate SIM subscribers, especially those at remote areas.”

She recalled that when the bill on SIM registration was under deliberation, lawmakers considered the compliance of the more than 168 million SIM subscribers and had foreseen the need to extend the registration period to accommodate all users.

Poe was the bill’s sponsor in the Senate.

As of April 23, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) data show that about 82,845,397, or 49.31 percent of SIM cards have been registered.

The breakdown is as follows:

DITO: 5,796,175 or 38.73 percent Globe: 37,099,437 or 42.77 percent SMART: 39,949,785 or 60.25 percent

Poe reiterated her call to FSIM, A4

2024 budget estimate out by 2nd week of May: DBM

The estimate for the Philippine budget for 2024 is set to be finalized by the second week of May, with the bulk of the expenditure program allotted for the social services sector.

According to Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, the DBM has already asked government agencies and offices to submit their budget proposals by the end of the month.

“By May 7, or a little about the second week of May, we’ll have our more or less estimated budget,” she was quoted as saying in a statement released by the DBM.

“Our priorities are the same as this year. Of course, it’s aligned with our eight-point socioeconomic agenda and the Philippine Development Plan,” she added.

Pangandaman said the gov-

UnionBank nets P3.4B in Q1, up 30%

Union Bank of the Philippines saw its net income grow by a double-digit in the first quarter of 2023.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, UnionBank reported a net income of P3.4 billion in the January to March period, up 30% year-on-year.

This is on the back of revenues which stood at P16.1 billion, up 57% year—on-year.

transactions.

Total assets as of March 31 stood at P1.1 trillion, up 30% year-on-year.

Net loans and receivables grew by 39% to P490 billion, while total deposits amounted to P692.9 billion, up 20% from a year earlier.

ernment is looking at retaining the same level of spending for the social services sector which accounts for 39% of the budget this year.

“We’ll have to look at their utilization also. With that sector, it will prioritize education; manpower development, including training of our workforce; health sector; and cash assistance to our marginalized

Net interest income also grew by 43% to P11.5 billion, fueled by the P3-billion contributions from its acquisition of Citi’s consumer business as well as strong loan growth across the bank’s businesses, namely CitySavings and UnionDigital.

Fees and other income grew by 82% year-on-year to P4.2 billion driven by fees from the growing digital and card-related

“The investments we made last year have exceeded our expectations. UnionDigital is already profitable after less than a year in operation. There is strong momentum in the acquired credit cards business from Citi. New-tobank card customers are at a record level,” said UnionBank president and CEO Edwin Bautista.

“Our infrastructure is ready for scale. We have sufficient capital coming from the recent stock rights offering to further grow our earning asset base,” said Bautista.