How I Believe Open FDI Would've GREATLY Lessened the Chances of Cartoon Characters Getting SIM Registrations

Manila Shaker

Make no mistake that I'm still for SIM card registration (read here). What I'm currently shocked is just how can SIM registration be this careless. SIM card registration is supposed to help stop scams but laugh (and cringe) at the stupidity. Just think for a second about the news that the picture of a monkey was used in a SIM card registration. Some people joked that it might've been the photo of Senator Francis Pangilinan aka Kiko. Pangilinan was often called Kiko Matsing--based on a character from the children's show Batibot. Even worse, more cartoon characters slipped into the SIM card registration. Maybe, that's why former president Atty Rodrigo R. Duterte vetoed the bill. Though in 2013, Senator Paolo Benigno A. Aquino did want the bill passed because of a Cagayan De Oro bombing incident. 

I think the problem has to do with a lack of competition. Why is FDI often demonized as invasion or an increase in loan? I even met someone on Facebook who said that Sri Lanka was ruined by FDI. What destroyed Sri Lanka wasn't FDI but a foreign loan from China. It's different when a country borrows money from another country. It's like the Philippines borrows from this country or when another country borrows from the Philippines. FDI is when a company from another country invests in the Philippines. Why can't these people get the difference or are they jumbling up terms just to mislead people for their own selfish reasons? I think the guy I met was just a clueless member of Kabataan Partylist--another partylist that opposes FDI while demanding for better services. 

The problem is that Filipino telecommunication companies are rather limited. You have Globe (who owns Touch Mobile which I use) and there's PLDT (which owns Smart and Sun Cellular, which it acquired from JG Summit Holdings). Today, we only have until DITO which is only up to the third telecommunications company. With just up to three telecommunication companies (and maybe, four if we hadd Starlink by Elon Musk, yeah I expect him to get wrongfully blamed for the incident), we can present the problem of the bottleneck. It's plain simple logic that having so few telecommunications and 7,107 islands, divided into 17 regions (which I believe could get the Philippines more than ready for federalism), and a huge population will be very hard to manage it.

I think about the number of times I did something wrong from a lack of sleep or stress. If there's one truth, a lack of sleep makes one stupid. I remembered putting the ice cream in the microwave instead of the freezer. I could remember hitting a motorcycle because I was too tired. I could remember how the idea of fatigue as a badge of courage only made me make more stupid decisions. How many stupid things can you remember because you lack sleep? I believe that those companies that have to get SIMs registered are overworked. I could imagine that a lot of employees were overworked because of the huge line of requests. Sooner or later, one may even ignore the fact that Bart Simpson of The Simpsons is just a fictional character. How stupid can these workers get to even register SIMs that are already presenting dubious IDs. They're obviously edited. I blame a lack of rest as to why it has happened.

How do I think FDIs can actually help lessen these dubious registrations?

FDIs have been demonized and ironically, done by people on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. A good example is how the Philippine Anti-Fascist League goes against FDIs but rants it out on Facebook. You can read such idiocy by the likes of Teodoro A. Casiño who write it down ironically on American-made WordPress or on Facebook of all places. Aren't WordPress and Facebook all American platforms? I'm really laughing whenever some people say that they're simply "forced to participate in capitalism". Were they forced to buy iPhones and MacPROs? That would be a very funny thing that they chose to buy iPhones and MacPROs. Couldn't they have chosen more affordable brands?

If the Philippines had more FDIs in the public utilities sector--it would mean more competition. I was laughing at how League of Filipino Students member, Carwyn Candila, kept calling the foreigners as imperialists and he's making that broadcast on Facebook of all places. I wonder whether Candila believes that lie or that he's lying for his own convenience. Would've Filipino First been abolished long ago--the Philippines would've had better Internet speed. The solution isn't to nationalize utilities in a monopoly but to promote government-regulated competition. If there were more telecommunication companies then there would be the need for the local ones to shape up their act.

A company that would do shoddy SIM card registration deserves to be flagged. Just imagine if news came out that this company allowed an ID containing Santa Claus' photo to be processed. Santa Claus is a fictional character so that makes it even more stupid. If there were more FDIs in the public services sector--there would be the right to dump their SIMs for a telecommunications company with better security. I would really start to get wary because of the recent incident where Bart and other cartoon characters were registered. Such companies need to be given stiff penalties because that's a serious breach of security. Then again there could be inside job for all we know. 

More telecommunication companies would mean lesser strenuous work. It would mean filling up the demand of all 7,107 islands and all 17 regions. It would mean that it's more than just PLDT, Globe, and DITO. If there were many telecommunication companies with many types of SIMs--it would mean that these companies need to do their job properly or risk losing customers. For example, if this company, whether FDI or local investor, will register the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy, the company will lose its crediblity. The customers of that company, regardless if it was foreign or Filipino, will soon jump to the other company with better security. Sadly, the choices have been so limited even after the EDSA revolution. Has protectionism truly benefited the country after EDSA? 

This is a real call for national emergency. SIM registration is supposed to help regulate scams. However, the telecommunications companies' lack of vigilance might end up not helping regulat escams instead. That's why these companies need more competition.