Philippines now requires registration to be able to use a SIM card.

Up until Dec 27, 2022, you used to be able to buy a SIM card for $0.50-0.70 from any store (literally every block has one, if not 5) and it'd be active for a year as long as you had any credit in it (even a cent). Indefinitely if you actively used it. No registration required, pop it in your phone and it's automatically ready to use. You topped up with cash from any store.

Well, that's all over now …

block card cash credit dec philippines phone pop privacy registration rest sim sim card store