SIM card registration

Tourists have to have a return ticket anyway - but never expect them to make life easy for an alien (we both share this view, I know!).

I cannot imagine a country that pushes for tourism so much but is also so xenophobic - until I lived in one!

I read the other day about flooding and how this is partly due to "foreign trees" - they were being serious - and illegal logging by their own citizens was hardly mentioned.

 

Exactly my point, you should (note i say should) not get a tourist visa unless you show a return ticket so why show it to register a SIM, do the telecom companies have to double check that the BI has done their job.
The BS just gets higher and higher, one day it might become insurmountable...

 

What are foreign trees ?

 

It became crystal clear to me many years ago that the majority of filipinos don't want foreigners here but they want the money we bring and spend, i myself have built 3 houses here which amounted to around 5 years constant employment for a large number of people.

 

For those trying to make sense of the consequences of the Sim registration law and corresponding IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations) for foreigners, here's my take on it.

Q. I'm on a tourist visa, is there trouble brewing?
A. Yes, you can register your local sim-card but that will result in a 30 day activation only, plus upon registration they'll ask for your ticket to fly out of the Philippines. There's no option for legal tourists to register for an indefinite period. You'll have 6 months left to use your local sim (the period within which you need to register). There might be another 4 months extension of that period but after that it's over. Using false information to register risks 6 months to 2 years prison or a fine up to 300,000 peso.

Q. I'm not on a tourist visa, how will it work?
A. You have 180 days to register your sim through the online registration portal of your provider (but afaik these are still being built). Upon registration you'll need to present/provide:
For foreign national end-user with other types of visas, ALL of the following shall be presented:
(i) Passport (i.e., copy of the bio-page and pages where the type of visa is stamped or show);
(ii) Proof of address in the Philippines (i.e., booking in a hotel or other type of accommodation, or in the absence thereof, an affidavit/letter from the owner of the house or residence/space where such foreign national will stay); and
(iii) Other pertinent document, whichever is applicable:
(1) Alien Employment Permit issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE);
(2) Alien Certificate of Registration Identification Card (ACRI Card) issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) or other types of official ID issued by any other visa-issuing agency;
(3) School registration and ID for students; or
(4) For Persons of Concern or POCs, the type of travel or admission document validly issued by the Department of Justice.

Once these registration portals are operational, I would expect them to be very very busy to the point of being unreachable for extended periods, so it might be best to either give the first (and last!) month of registration a miss or try registering at 3 am or something.

Q. Can I still get a new sim-card without having to register immediately?
A. Providers are required by the new law to sell sims that can only be activated once registered through the online system, so I would think not.

 

The good ones
Mahogany
Acacia (large species)
Fire tree
Basically its the trees DENR will give you if you ask. It's a part of a big seedling planting job.
Nara is native.
The wife and me picked up 50, some died but most of the hardwoods are doing well.

 

Another point to note is that "a penalty of imprisonment for six months to six years or a fine of P100,000 to P300,000 or both, shall be imposed to anyone who sells or transfers a registered SIM without complying with the required registration".

Could this mean, technically, that giving one to another family member is a 'transfer'?

 

I think yew know what I mean, but fir your information, 'any tree entering our country that causes problems for our citizen trees (but can bring all their cash with them)'. Oak?

 

Absolutely guilty as charged, even if your dabs are not on the said SIM. Clearly any foreigner owning a phone is now at some kind of risk, after all it's always the foreigners fault regards driving.

Anyone know a lawyer that specialises in SIM registration (-: