BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday, April 25, announced that it had denied the request for the issuance of a temporary restraining order against the SIM card registration law.

High Court spokesperson lawyer Brian Keith Hosaka made the announcement during a briefing with reporters in Baguio City on Tuesday. The SC has yet to disclose the ground for the dismissal, including the number of votes.

“The Supreme Court, during its En Banc deliberations today, April 25, 2023, denied the prayer to issue a temporary restraining order in National Union of Journalists of the Philippines Inc., et al. vs The National Telecommunications, et al. (G.R. No. 266367) and instead required the Respondents to file their comment on the Petition within 10 days from actual receipt of Notice,” the SC said.

On Tuesday morning, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla announced that registration has been extended for 90 days. However, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission, the agencies that oversee telecommunications companies, have yet to announce any extension, as of writing.

Remulla later told reporters on Tuesday that DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy will make the announcement, but confirmed anew the extension.

On October 10, 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the SIM Card Registration act, which requires all Filipinos to register their SIM cards by using any government-issued identification. The law’s goal is to supposedly combat fraud, according to the government.

Since the law’s introduction, many groups have been opposing it due to privacy concerns. Even former president Rodrigo Duterte himself vetoed the SIM card and social media registration bill over concerns about free speech and privacy.

The High Court’s latest action stemmed from the petition filed by various groups led by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. In the petition, the groups asked the SC to issue a TRO or writ of preliminary injunction to block the government’s implementation of the said law.

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Aside from this, the groups also asked the SC to order public telecommunications entities to cease and desist from “using, storing, transferring, and, processing all information gathered into the SIM register and to DESTROY data already gathered.”

In their petition, the groups also explained their position by raising the following as grounds:

• The law is a violation of the freedom of speech and its cognate rights
• Violation of right vs. unreasonable searches and seizures, privacy of communication
• Violation of due process
• Violation of free access to courts

– Rappler.com