Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No._7307

Introduced by Rep. ANGELO MARCOS BARBA.
24 District, locos Norte

AN ACT PROTECTING PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SUBSCRIBERS AGAINST UNAUTHORIZED SERVICES AND
CONSUMPTION OF LOAD CREDITS AND IMPOSITION OF
EXPIRATION PERIOD ON THE VALIDITY OF PREPAID LOAD
CREDITS AND THE FORFEITURE THEREOF

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Prepaid plans are known to be economical. Spending is controlled and
tailored to one’s needs. There are no fees and no lock-in periods—that’s why it
is more appealing to the majority of Filipinos.

In fact, the number of prepaid subscriptions in the country has been
steadily increasing. Data from 2018 show that there are over 129 million
mobile prepaid subscribers. The increase may be attributed to the order of
the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to extend the validity of
prepaid load credits to one year, allowing prepaid subscribers to have more
time in consuming their load credits.

While the extension of the validity period is laudable, the imposition of an
expiration on the validity period of prepaid load defeats the purpose of
prepaid subscription as it forces a subscriber to consume load credits or risk
its forfeiture. Thus, a subscriber loses his or her money’s worth.

‘As a representative of the people, this representation sees the need to go
further than the NTC order and proposes a measure to prohibit the imposition
of expiration period on the validity of prepaid load.

The bill also seeks to protect prepaid and postpaid subscribers from
deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable trade acts and practices of
telecommunication companies by prohibiting the enrollment of subscribers to
unauthorized value-added services (VAS) without the subscriber's consent and
then billing them for unauthorized VAS which has the effect of reducing the
prepaid credit or increasing the postpaid amount due from a subscriber.

+ Lamiel, C. 10 May 2019. Yugatech, Globe vs PLOT: Which had more mobile subscribers in 2018? Retrieved from
httpsi//www. ugatech.com/internet-telecoms/globe-vs-pldt-mobile-subscribers-in-2018/#sthash.wdFOSdeD. dpb
son August 5, 2020.


Any director, officer, employee, or agent of a public telecommunications
entity providing prepaid and postpaid services shall be penalized for violating
any of the acts mentioned in this proposed Act.

In light of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is most earnestly sought.

ANGE! COS BARBA


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS:
Second Regular Session

House Bill No. 7307

Introduced by Rep. ANGELO MARCOS BARBA.
2nd District, Nocos Norte

AN ACT PROTECTING ALL TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SUBSCRIBERS AGAINST UNAUTHORIZED SERVICES AND
CONSUMPTION OF LOAD CREDITS AND IMPOSITION OF
EXPIRATION PERIOD ON THE VALIDITY OF PREPAID LOAD
CREDITS AND THE FORFEITURE THEREOF

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as “Protection of
Telecommunication Subscribers Act”.

SECTION. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy of the State to
protect the interest of consumers and promote their general welfare.

To this end, the State shall implement measures that shall safeguard the
consumers from deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable trade acts and
practices in the telecommunications industry.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. ~ As used in this Act, the following
terms are defined as follows:

a. Active Prepaid Account refers to a number with any activity involving
voice, short messaging system (SMS) or text, mobile data, value-added
services (VAS), or any other telecommunications service;

b. Dormant Prepaid Account refers to a number without any activity
involving voice, short messaging system (SMS) or text, mobile data,
value-added services (VAS), or any other telecommunications service
within a period of one year;

c. Load Credit refers to the monetary value or consumable amount
loaded to a mobile or landline phone via prepaid cards or electronic
transfers that enable a consumer to use telecommunication or
value-added services;

a. Prepaid Subscribers refers to any person, natural or juridical, who
avails of telecommunications services from a telecommunications


entity and/or information and communications technology provider by
purchasing credit in advance of service use. The purchased credit is
used to pay for telecommunications services at the point the service is
accessed or consumed;

Unauthorized service refers to a service for which a subscriber did not
provide expressed and informed consent;

Unsought services refer to services which include ringing tones,
polyphonic tones, video and picture messages, and other similar
services that a subscriber did not purchase under his postpaid or
prepaid account but is, nonetheless, sent or transmitted without
permission;

Public Telecommunications Entity refers to any person, firm,
partnership or corporation, government or private, engaged in the
provision of telecommunications services to the public for
compensation; and

Telecommunications refers to any process which enables a
telecommunications entity to relay and receive voice, data, electronic
messages, written or printed matter, fixed or moving pictures, words,
music or visible or audible signals or any control signals of any design
and for any purpose by wire, radio or other electromagnetic, spectral,
optical or technological means.

SECTION 4. Prohibited Acts. — The following shall constitute prohibited

acts

of any public telecommunications entity or information and

communications technology provider and are hereby declared unlawful:

a.

Enrolling subscribers to unauthorized value-added services (VAS)
and/or unsought services without the subscriber's consent;

Billing subscribers’ accounts for unauthorized VAS and/or unsought
services which has the effect of reducing the prepaid credit or
increasing the postpaid amount due from a subscriber;

Imposition on an expiration period on the validity of unused load
credit;

Forfeiture of prepaid load credits on an active prepaid account, save
for the purpose of availing of the mobile number portability service;

Refusal to give refund to any subscriber whose load credits were
forfeited or charged without any valid cause; and

Failure to provide electronic receipt as provided under Section 5 of this
Act.


In view of paragraphs (c) and (4), a prepaid account that has become
dormant shall be deducted one peso for every day of inactivity from its
remaining load credits until such credits are fully consumed.

SECTION 5. Obligation to provide electronic receipt(s). - Every public
telecommunications entity shall inform its subscribers via text message, free
of charge, on the deduction to their load credit for calls, data, and VAS usage.

SECTION 6. Penalties. - Any director, officer, employee, or agent of a
public telecommunications entity providing prepaid and postpaid services
who shall violate any of the acts mentioned under Section 4 hereof shall,
upon conviction, be subject to a penalty of a fine of not less than One hundred
thousand pesos (PhP100,000.00) but not to exceed One million pesos
(PhP1,000,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than two (2) years, but not
more than six (6) years, or both, upon the discretion of the court.

If the violation was committed by or in the interest of a juridical person
duly licensed to engage in business in the Philippines, the following penalties
shall be imposed:

a. First offense — a fine of Five hundred thousand pesos
(PhpP500,000.00);

b. Second offense — a fine of One million pesos (PhP1,000,000.00) plus
suspension of license to engage in business for a period of thirty (30)

days;
c. Third offense — a fine of Two million pesos (PhP2,000,000.00) plus
immediate revocation of license to engage in business.

SECTION 7. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). — Within
ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act, the National
Telecommunications Commission shall coordinate with the Department of
Information and Communications Technology and the Department of Trade
and Industry to promulgate the rules and regulations and other issuances as
may be necessary to ensure the effective implementation of this Act, including
the issuance of proper and adequate information dissemination of its contents
and benefits to the public.

The IRR issued pursuant to this Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

SECTION 8. Separability Clause, Any portion or provision of this Act
that may be declared unconstitutional or invalid shall not have the effect of
nullifying the other portions or provisions hereof as long as such remaining
portion or provision can still subsist and be given effect in their entirety.

SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, orders, rules, and
regulations or other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.


SECTION 10. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication in the Official Gazette or any two (2) newspapers of
general circulation in the Philippines.

Approved,