"Rrriiiiiing!"
I scrambled out of the sofa. My cellphone was practically screaming itself hoarse, jolting me out of my so-called 10-minute power nap.
With both eyes still partly shut, I flipped my phone open and murmured, "Hello?"
A tentative, almost hesitant "Ello?" came from the other end.
I didn't know that voice from Adam.
The person on the other end of the line continued, "Sino kaw?" in a voice thick with a Cebuano accent.
Oh drat, I flipped the phone shut, pulled out the battery and went back to sleep.
It has been a couple of days since a prank caller has been calling me and sending anonymous text messages. The messages are harmless but he practically fills my inbox with random questions and he calls at the unholiest hours like in the middle of the night or early in the morning. In short, it's irritating me to the tips of my nosehairs.
Occasionally, my mother forwards texts to me from some random person, telling her that she has won a car or a hefty sum of money in some raffle draw. I tell her to ignore the texts because, after all, if she didn't join a raffle somewhere, she shouldn't expect to win anything. Besides, if the message is written in really bad grammar, your internal alarm should start wailing. But we have heard countless news stories of people still being duped by this practice of anonymous texters who manage to extract cash or prepaid load from their unsuspecting victims.
The NTC has called on Congress to pass a law which would require prepaid mobile users to register their personal details with mobile network operators. This started about three years ago but the NTC has realized how difficult this task is. Last July, Congressman Biazon has renewed calls for such a bill in the wake of the blasts in Mindanao which have been linked to cellphone-triggered bombs.
Registration of SIM cards will be of help in associating cellphone numbers with the persons who hold and use such numbers. Some sectors however argue that registration of SIM numbers could be tantamount to invasion of privacy.
I don't really buy that argument at all since this system is already in place with the compulsory registration in postpaid accounts. However my questions have more to do with the implementation of the proposed law. There should be a way to ensure that the information people give upon registration are in fact true and that sellers of such prepaid SIM cards comply with registration.
When I was on vacation with my family in Kuala Lumpur, I bought a local Digi SIM so that I could communicate with some Malaysia-based friends while I was there. I was surprised when the man behind the stall asked for my passport before he gave me my SIM pack. Apparently in Malaysia, SIM card registration is compulsory and it has been that way since 2006. I really don't know what most people think but I really do believe it is time to give an anonymous phone number a face of its own.
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2 comments:
'Di kaya secret admirer yan? :) I was working with the NTC on or about that time when SIM registration was an issue, the best hirit I got from the deliberations I think was, "wala namang problema kung wala kang tinatago."
Anyways, I think your problem could be solved by simply filling up a pro-forma complaint form at the OSPAC at the NTC lobby, you just have to put the grounds on which you want the specific cellphone number blocked, in this case nuisance texts, and after passing through the legal department and waiting two weeks, your secret admirer will not be able to send you text messages using the same number, his SIM which will no longer be usable, unless of course he has memorized your number which situation will support arguments for SIM registration. This is of course if they have not changed the system. I hope this helps :)
laws concerning sim cards would be next to impossible to implement with the millions of cell users and with the availability of P50 prepaid sim cards. Plus, there's chikka...
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