Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
‘Quezon City, Metro Manila

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 8536

Introduced by Representative Midy N. Cua
Lone District, Quirino

AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE ‘NO CALL, NO TEXT, AND NO E-MAIL REGISTRATION
SYSTEM’ AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF

EXPLANATORY NOTE

With the growing use of digital devices and cellular and smartphones, Filipinos have received an
alarming number of suspicious SMS and emails from unknown persons. In the first half of 2022
alone,

Globe Telecom Inc. has already blocked around 138 million spam emails and scam text messages.
‘Scammers use these spam messages and emails to prey on Filipino consumers by offering them jobs
and prizes or to register bank accounts to receive discounts and freebies. Subscribers also receive
unsolicited marketing messages and calls from business entities.

To address these concerns, this bill seeks to strengthen the role of the State in protecting the interest.
and privacy of mobile phone subscribers and electronic mail (e-mail) users on unsolicited commercial
speech. In addition, this bill aims to set a standard for business and industry on more responsible and
accountable marketing practices. Through the establishment of No Call, No Text, and No E-mail
Registries and requirement of negative option feature, subscribers may manage and limit the outbound
and unsolicited call, text, and e-mail messages they will receive.

This bill requires “prior consent from the subscriber before commercial or promotional
advertisements, or push messages may be sent to them or when the subscriber has specifically opted
to receive said messages without additional cost.” This measure also laid down the prohibited acts, its
corresponding penalties, and exceptions to the rule.

This measure previously passed the third reading in the 18* Congress. It was proposed by
Representatives Victor A. Yap, Francis Gerald Aguinaldo Abaya, Precious Hipolito Castelo, Roman
T. Romulo, Eric G. Yap, Tyrone D. Agavas, France L. Castro, Micaela S. Violago, Enrico A. Pineda,
John Reynald M. Tiangco, Rose Marie “Baby” J. Arenas, Dahlia A. Loyola, Joseph Stephen S.
Paduano, Gabriel H. Bordado Jr., Wilton “Tonton” T. Kho, Xavier Jesus D. Romualdo, Carlito S.
Marquez, Rufus B. Rodriguez, Ruffy B. Biazon, Bienvenido M. Abante Jr., Wes Gatchalian, Manuel
Luis T. Lopez, Joy Myra Salvador-Tambunting, Fernando T. Cabredo, Erico Aristotle C. Aumentado,
Alyssa Sheena P. Tan, Virgilio S. Lacson, Faustino Michael Carlos T. Dy Ill, Ferdinand L.
Hemandez, Pablo John F. Garcia, Jose Christopher Y. Belmonte, Elenita Milagros “Eileen” Ermita-
Buhain, Joey Sarte Salceda, Junie E. Cua, Jose “Ping-Ping” I. Tejada, Greg G. Gasataya, Romeo O.
Jalosjos Jr., Horacio P. Suansing Jr., Francisco Jose “Bingo” F. Matugas, CPA, CESO, LLB, Jose
Enrique “Joet” S. Garcia Ill, Ruwel Peter S. Gonzaga, Teodorico T. Haresco, Jr., Luisa Lloren


Cuaresma, Juliette T. Uy, Paul Ruiz Daza, Jocelyn Sy Limkaichong, Manuel F. Zubiri, Manuel T.
Sagarbarria, Lorna P. Bautista-Bandigan, Peter John D. Calderon, Luis N. Campos Jr., David “Jay-
Jay” C. Suarez, Sandro L. Gonzalez, Romeo S. Momo, Vincent Franco “Duke” D. Frasco, Way Kurat
Zamora, Yasser Alonto Balindong, Angelo Marcos Barba, Joseph St. Nifio B. Bemos, Narciso R.
Bravo Jr., Alfel M. Bascug, Wilfredo “Willy” S. Caminero, Carl Nicolas C. Cari, Maximo Y. Dalog
Jr., Alfred C. Delos Santos, Cheryl P. Deloso-Montalla, Abdullah D. Dimaporo, Jumel Anthony I.
Espino, Ria Christina G. Farifias, Jocelun F. Fortuno, Ann K. Hofer, Cesar “Jawo” I. Jimenez Jr.,
Glona G. Labadlabad, Mario Vittorio “Marvey” A. Marifio, Maricel G. Natividad-Nagafio MD, Na.
Lucille L. Nava MD, Pablo C. Ortega, Emmarie “Lolypop” Ouano-Dizon, Ediiebong G. Plaza, Strike
B. Revilla, Geraldine B. Roman, Hector S. Sanchez, Loma C. Silverio, Kristine Singson-Mechan,
Kristine Alexie B. Tutor, Diego “Nonoy” C. Ty, Rosanna “Ria” Vergara, Elizaldy S. Co, Argel
Joseph T. Cabatbat, Sergio C. Dagooc, Godofredo N. Guya, Stella Luz A. Quimbo, Lawrence “Law”
H. Fortun, Leonardo L. Babasa Jr., Manuel D. Cabochan III, Wilfrido Mark M. Enverga, Raymund
Democrito C. Mendoza, Jericho Jonas B. Nograles, Josephine Ramirez-Sato, Amihilda J. Sangcopan,
Edgar S, Sarmiento, Jesus “Bong” C. Suntay, and Luis Raymund “Lray” F. Villafuerte Jr. as principal
authors thereof.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this measure is eamestly sought.

MIDEN. CUA
Repesentative
Lone Pistrict, Quirino


‘
Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 8536

Introduced by Representative Midy N. Cua
Lone District, Quirino

AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE ‘NO CALL, NO TEXT, AND NO E-MAIL REGISTRATION
SYSTEM’ AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
CHAPTERT
TITLE AND DECLARATION OF POLICY

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “No Call. No Text, and No E-mail
Registration System Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ It is hereby declared the policy of the State to:

a) Protect the interest of mobile phone subscribers and electronic mail (e-mail) users vis-a-vis
unsolicited commercial speech;

b) Provide a standards of conduct for business and industry in sending text messages and e-mails
to subscribers;

©) Promote the fundamental right of a mobile photie service subscriber and e-mail user to
privacy; and

) Protect subscribers from unwanted calls, texts and e-mails inducing the purchase of goods or
services and other forms of solicitation.

CHAPTER

DEFINITION OF TERMS, MECHANISMS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A ‘NO CALL,
NO TEXT, AND NO EMAIL REGISTRATION’ SYSTEM

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. ~ As used in this Act:
a) Caller or sender refers to any person, and in the case of a juridical person, an employee or

agent, who initiates a call, a text message or an e-mail for the purpose of making an outbound
‘or unsolicited call, text message or e-mail;


b) Consent refers to a written contract signed by both the subscriber and a representative of the
public telecommunications entity (PTE) indicating that the subscriber opted to receive such
commercial or promotional advertisement or push message;

©) E-mail refers to any message distributed by electronic means from one computer user to one or
more recipients via a network;

4) Negative option refers to a feature which shall enable a person to stop receiving any call, text
or e-mail from a caller or sender;

©) No Call Registry refers to the listing of Philippine telephone numbers to which specified voice
message shall not be sent;

1) No E-mail Registry refers to the listing of Philippine e-mail addresses to which a specified e-
mail shall not be sent;

8) No Text Registry refers to the listing of Philippine telephone numbers to which a specified text
message shall not be sent;

h) Outbound call, text or e-mail refers to a telephone call, text message or e-mail initiated by any
caller or sender to induce the purchase of goods and services;

i) Prize refers to anything offered, or purportedly offered, and given, or purportedly given, to a
subscriber by chance;

i) Subscribers refer to clients of telecommunications companies, whether under a pre-paid or
post-paid plan;

k) Text refers to any message sent via short message service (SMS);

1) Upselling refers to soliciting the purchase of goods or services following an initial transaction
during a single telephone call, text message or e-mail;

m) Unsolicited call, text or e-mail refers to a call, a text message or an e-mail which is not
initiated by the recipient of the call or message such as upselling, surveys, awarding of a prize
when the recipient did not join or subscribe to any game or activity, or solicitation by any non-
profit and charitable institution, whether or not the call, text message or e-mail induces the
purchase of goods or services.

SEC. 4. Subscriber's Consent Prior to Sending Promotional Advertisements Messages. ~ Commercial
or promotional advertisements, or push messages may only be sent to a subscriber who has given prior
consent or has specifically opted-in to receive said messages without additional cost. All commercial
or promotional advertisements, or push messages must contain an accurate description of the message,
identity and contact number of the PTE who sent or caused to send the message.

SEC. 5. Establishment of No Call, No Text, and No E-mail Registries. - The National Privacy
Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Privacy Commission, shall establish a No Call Registry, No
Text Registry, and a No E-mail Registry: Provided, That. the identity of persons registered shall be
kept highly confidential: Provided, further, That only the telephone numbers and the e-mail addresses
of registered persons may be accessed from the registries.

SEC. 6. Registration in the No Call, No Text, and No E-mail Registries. — A subscriber may manage
and limit the outbound and unsolicited call, text and e-mail messages that maybe received by
registering a telephone number in the No Call and No Text Registries or an e-mail address in the No E-


mail Registry upon presentation of a government identification and proof of exclusive ownership over
a particular telephone number or e-mail address, and upon payment of a fee as determined by the
Privacy Commission: Provided, That the registration of mobile numbers of a subscriber or e-mail
address of a user below eighteen (18) years of age may be done by the user's parent or legal guardian.

Such registration shall be valid for a period of one (1) year, subject to renewal.

SEC. 7. Removal of Numbers and E-mail Addresses. ~ Telephone numbers and e-mail addresses
registered in the No Call. No Text, and No E-mail Registries shall not be changed nor removed except.
upon the request of the owner in writing. Invalid or disconnected telephone numbers and e-mail
addresses may be changed or removed upon adequate validation by the Privacy Commission.

SEC. 8. Opt-out mechanism.. - All PTEs shall provide a mechanism for subscribers to opt out any
time from the broadcast messaging service at no cost to the subscriber or recipient. The opt-out
mechanism must enable the subscriber or recipient to indicate the decision not to receive any
commercial or promotional advertisement or push message from the PTE.

SEC. 9. Negative Option Requirement. — A person whose number is not registered in the No Call and
No Text Registries or whose e-mail is not registered in the No E-mail Registry may manage and limit
‘outbound and unsolicited calls, text messaging or e-mails through the negative option feature.

All mobile phone callers or text message senders shall set up a negative option which shall be
available to the recipient immediately upon answering the call, or at the beginning of the text or the e-
mail after providing the required information under Section 10 of this Act.

Upon selection. of the negative option feature, the caller or sender shall not make any further
step to persuade the recipient and immediately end the call or stop sending any text message or e-mail
to the recipient. The recipient shall report and register the name and the number of the person,
company or organization who made the call, sent the message or e-mail to the No Call, No Text, and
No E-mail Registries in order to make the caller or sender liable for violation of this Act for any
subsequent call, text message or e-mail. This prohibition shall apply to the caller or sender regardless
of the goods or services offered and the telephone number or e-mail address used to contact the
recipient.

SEC. 10. Requirement for a Caller or Sender. - No person shall make an outbound or unsolicited call.
text message or e-mail unless such person:

i registers and thereafter, obtains a certified true copy of the No Call, No Text, and No R-
mail Registries from the Privacy Commission:° Provided, That the Privacy Commission
shall have the power to set reasonable fees for the reproduction of these registries; and

ii. discloses the full name of the caller or sender, the company, or organization for whose
benefit the call, text message or e-mail is being made, and the telephone number of a fixed
line where such identity can be established and verified.

SEC. 11. Responsibility of Caller or Sender. — It shall be the responsibility of any caller of sender to
register under Section 10 hereof and to get information on the numbers and e-mail addresses which are
registered in the No Call, No Text, and No E-mail Registries. Possession of a certified true copy of the
‘No Call. No Text, and No E-mail Registries prior to the date the call is made, or the text message or e-
mail is sent shall be considered prima facie evidence of knowledge on the part of the caller or sender.

CHAPTER IIL

PROHIBITED ACTS, FINES, AND PENALTIES


SEC. 12. Prohibited Acts. ~ Non-registration of the caller or sender as required under of this Act shall
be considered a Section 10 violation of this Act.

Except otherwise provided in this Act, no person, whether natural or juridical, shall make:
a. an unsolicited call to any telephone number listed in the No Call Registry;
b. unsolicited text to any telephone number listed in the No Text Registry; and
¢. an unsolicited e-mail to any e-mail address listed in the No E-mail Registry.

‘The PTE that shall give the special access to numbers or e-mail addresses of their subscribers
to commercial or marketing agencies without the latter's consent shall be held liable under this Act.

The use of an automatic dialer or any electronic device that automatically or randomly
contacts telephone numbers is prohibited.

Any violation of this section shall constitute the crime of unauthorized processing as defined
and penalized under Sections 25(a) and 25(b) of the Data Privacy Act of 2012, without prejudice to a
further fine that may be imposed by the Privacy Commission as provided for in this Act.

SEC. 13. Exceptions. - This Act shall not apply to a caller or sender under the following
circumstances:

a. in representation of a public agency who is not promoting any of its programs for commercial
purpose;

b. action undertaken in a personal capacity;

¢. action prompted by a necessity to respond to an emergency that threatens the life, health or
safety of any individual;

4. when the sole purpose of the call, text or e-mail is to:

() facilitate, complete or confirm a transaction that the recipient of the message has
previously agreed to enter with the sender;

(i) provide warranty information, product recall information or safety or security
information with respect to a product or service purchased or used by the recipient of
the message; or

(iii) deliver goods or services, including product updates or upgrades, that the recipient
message is entitled to receive under the terms of the transaction that the recipient
previously agreed to enter with the sender;

e. when with reference to an ongoing purchase or use by the recipient of goods or services
offered by the sender, the sole purpose of the call, text or e-mail is to:

(i) notify a change in its terms or features;
(ii) notify a change in the standing or status of the recipient of the message; or
(iii) provide, at regular periodic intervals, account balance information or other type of

account statement with respect to a subscription, membership, account, loan or
comparable ongoing commercial relationship;



f, when its sole purpose is to conduct market research or market survey;

g. when sent to an organization other than an individual acting in a personal capacity, for
whatever purpose of the receiving organization;

h. when done by duly recognized charities, religious institutions, or educational institutions
which are not considered as telemarketers, non-profit organizations, and other exempt
organizations under appropriate rules and regulations; or

i. other acts that may be identified by the Privacy Commission.

SEC. 14, Filing of Complaint. - Complainants may initially file their complaints with the PTE. which
shall act on all complaints received within fifteen (15) days from receipt of such complaints.

‘Complainants who are not satisfied with the action of the PTE may bring the matter to the
Privacy Commission.

SEC. 15. Liability of Caller or Sender. ~ A caller or sender who commits any violation under Sections
4, 9, and 10 of this Act shall be held solely liable. If the caller or sender acted for the benefit of
another person, natural or juridical, and with authority from the latter, they shall be both held
separately liable for the violation. However, if the caller or sender acted for the benefit of another
person, natural or juridical, without authority from the latter, the former shall be held solely liable.

Any caller or sender who calls, sends a text message or e-mail to a subscriber who is in the No
Call, No Text, and No E-mail Registries shall be fined for each call, text or e-mail.

SEC. 16. Penalties. - Without prejudice to administrative sanctions that may be imposed by the
Privacy Commission, or to civil or criminal liability, any person found to be in violation of any
provision of this Act or its implementing rules and regulations, shall be imposed the following
penalties:

a) For juridical person, a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000) nor more than One
hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) for each violation: Provided, That its officers directly
responsible for the violation shall suffer the penalty of fine of not less than Fifty thousand
pesos (P50,000.00) but not more than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00); or

b) For a natural person, a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) but not more
than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00).

‘SEC. 17. Charges and Fees. ~ The Privacy Commission shall, within one hundred (100) days from the
enactment of this Act, develop and promulgate a schedule of fees and charges it may collect from
entities who shall access the No Call. No Text, and No E-mail Registries.

CHAPTER IV.

FINAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 18. Appropriations. ~ The Privacy Commission shall immediately include in its programs the
implementation of this Act, the initial funding of which shall be charged against its current year’s
appropriations. Thereafter, such sums as maybe necessary for the continued implementation of this Act
shall be included in the Annual General Appropriations Act.

Proceeds from penalties herein imposed shall accrue to the General Fund.


SEC. 19. Implementing Rules and Regulations, — Within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this
Act, the Privacy Commission shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective
implementation of this Act.

SEC. 20. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is held unconstitutional or invalid, all
other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid.

SEC. 21. Repealing Clause. ~ All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations or parts
thereof, which are inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 22. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official
Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,