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

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No,_7238

Introduced by Representative Evelina Escudero

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The use of cellular telephones has indeed increased in the country since its introduction in
the late 90's, when they were first considered as status symbols. These days, they are so
common place that almost every other person you bump into is either talking on the cell; is
busy texting; or even listening to music, watching videos, surfing the internet or even playing
games in their "smart" cellular phones or "smartphones."

The expansion of the cellular service allowed millions of Filipinos from all social classes
to own a cellular unit. However, with the growth of the wireless telephone network, it is
inevitable that problems come along with it. It is not uncommon that we hear complaints like
dropped calls; network congestion resulting to delayed receipt or text messages;
interconnection problems with competing cellular companies; and even top-up loads that
simply "vanish" for unknown reasons (affecting the prepaid customers),

Since a large portion of the population rely on this telecommunication service, it is indeed
imperative that a law be set in place to protect the rights of the subscribers who, at times, suffer
from the inefficient service provided by the different telecommunication companies.

For these reasons, as introduced by late Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago in the 16th
Congress, this bill is respectfully submitted,

Meg ESCUDERO,


AN ACT PROTECTING CONSUMERS OF WIRELESS TELEPHONE SERVICES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Republic of the

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

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No. 7238

Introduced by Representative Evelina Escudero

Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Wireless Telephone Consumer Protection

Act.”

SEC. 2. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act, the term:

a)

b)

s

Commission - means the National Telecommunications Commission
(NTC);

Internet - means the shared global computing network. A network
based on standards including Internet Protocol (IP), Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and the Domain Name System (DNS),
which enables global communications between all connected
computing devices. It provides the platform for web services and the
World Wide Web;

Wireless telephone services - means commercial mobile radio

service;

Wireless telephone service provider or provider - means any entity
that provides wireless telephone service in the country; and

Wireless telephone number information - means the telephone
number, electronic address and any other identifying information


by which a calling party may reach a subscriber to commercial
mobile services, and which is assigned by a wireless telephone service
provider to such subscriber.

SEC. 3. Information Requirement. - Within 180 days following the effective date of this Act.
the Commission shall adopt rules and regulations requiring that any publication, including
publication on the internet, of a wireless telephone service provider concerning the terms of its
plans or contracts for wireless telephone service shall set forth, in a plain and conspicuous
manner, the following information:

(1) Information on charges, including the originating location of the call, monthly
base charge, per-minute charges for minutes not included in the plan, and the
method of calculating minutes charged;

(2) Information on the minutes included in the plan, including allowable minutes
during daytime and weekdays, allowable minutes during nights and weekends, or
any other differing charges for long distance, roaming, incoming and directory
assistance;

(3) Information on plan or contract terms, including length of contract, early or
other termination fees, trial periods, and start-up fees

(4) Information on taxes collected by the provider for, and paid to the national,
local, or other governmental agency;

(5) Information on surcharges imposed by the provider for the costs of
compliance with regulations or for other purposes; and

(6) Any other information that the Commission considers appropriate to ensure
that consumers of wireless telephone service are fully informed of the terms
of the plan or contract.

The wireless telephone service providers shall provide the information required by this
section to a consumer prior to entering into any contract with a consumer for wireless telephone
service.

SEC. 4. Information on Service Coverage.- Each wireless telephone service provider shall
make available maps showing the wireless telephone service area of such provider and the
wireless telephone service area of such provider within the country. Such maps shall contain
practicable level of granularity and shall be updated quarterly.

Each map of service required under subsection a, of this section shall be provided to a
consumer:

(1) upon the request of the Consumer; and

(2) whenever a plan or contract for the service is entered into.


Each map of service required under subsection a, of this section shall be available
(1) on the Internet website of the provider concerned; and
(2) on the Internet website of the Commission

SEC. 5. Monitoring ~The Commission shall monitor the quality of wireless telephone service
providers based on the following standards:

(J) dropped calls;
(2) blocked calls;

(3) known coverage gaps (including average signal strength) or dead
zones;

(4) predicted stress level signal strength; and

(5) any other matters the Commission considers appropriate.

In monitoring the quality of wireless telephone service, the Commission shall
establish a website which allows the public to submit their comments and views to the
Commission on the quality of such service. The Commission shall also accept written
complaints by mail.

SEC. 6. Availability of Information - The Commission shall make information
available to wireless telephone service providers and the public on a semiannual basis
concerning the quality of wireless telephone service of the provider.

SEC. 7. Extension of Contract. - An extension of a contact for wireless telephone
service shall not be valid unless the extension of the contract is in writing and is
signed by the subscriber, or confirmed in writing and signed by the subscriber
within seven days of the receipt of the subscriber.

SEC. 8. Notice on Change of Terms.- A wireless telephone service provider
shall provide subscribers with written notice of any change in rates, terms, or
conditions of service at least days before the change is to take effect. If any such
change will result to higher rates or more restrictions on service or otherwise will
result in a material, adverse change for such subscriber, the subscriber may, within
such 30-day period, terminate the service without penalty and receive a pro rata
refund of the charges, if any, paid for the handset used for the service, The notice of
change shall inform the subscriber of the right to terminate the contract, the right to
a handset refund, and the steps to take to implement such termination.

SEC. 9. Cancellation of Contract. - A contract for wireless service may be
canceled upon the request of the subscriber for any reason during the first days.
There shall be no penalty or other costs to the subscriber for any cancellation
during these 30 days, except that the subscriber shall be responsible for the cost
of the service used during the time period that the contract was in effect.


SEC. 10. Billing. - A wireless telephone service provider shall provide bills
for wireless telephone services that are clearly organized and clearly described
in plain language the products and services for which charges are imposed,
and that conform to format standards established by the Commission.

SEC. 11. Taxes. - Taxes and fees which are required by the law, or local
ordinance or regulation to be collected from the subscriber shall set forth in
a separate section of the bill and shall be itemized separately. This section of
the bill shall only contain charges that the provider is required to be recovered
from subscribers pursuant to law.

SEC. 12. Roaming charges. - Roaming or off-network charges shall he
itemized on the subscriber's bill within 60 days of call being placed, and such
roaming or off network charges shall identify the date and originating location of
the call.

SEC. 13. Request for Billing Statement. - Upon the request of a subscriber,
a wireless telephone service provider shall provide an itemized bill to the
subscriber at no cost to the subscriber.

SEC. 14. Charges on Unauthorized Use - Charges associated with the use
of wireless telephone equipment or services shall not be the liability of
the subscriber if such use was unauthorized by the subscriber due to lost
or theft, provided that such loss or theft is promptly reported the wireless
telephone service provider.

SEC. 15. Rules and Regulations on Complaint - The Commission shall
adopt rules and regulations as may be necessary to allow subscribers to file
complaints with the Commission with regard to billing disputes between
wireless telephone service providers and subscribers

SEC. 16. Non-termination of Service.- A wireless telephone service provider
shall refrain from terminating a subscriber's service for nonpayment so
long as the subscriber's billing complaint is pending before the Commission
and for 15 days thereafter, or for such period as the Commission for good cause
shall establish, provided that as a condition of continued service during the
pendency of such dispute, the subscriber shall pay the undisputed portions
of any bill for service and any amounts the Commission determines are
necessary to fairly compensates the wireless telephone provider for services
rendered while the complaint is pending and 15 days thereafter.


SEC. 17. Publication of Information. - A wireless telephone service provider,
or any direct or indirect affiliate or agent of a provider, providing the name
and wireless telephone number information of a subscriber for inclusion in
any directory of any form, or selling, leasing, licensing or sharing the contents
of any directory database, or any portion or segment thereof, shall not
include the wireless telephone number information of any subscriber without
first obtaining the express consent of that subscriber. The provider's form
for obtaining the subscriber's express consent shall meet all the following
requirements:
(1) it shall be a separate document that is not attached to any other
document;
(2) it shall be signed and dated by the subscriber;
(3) it shall be unambiguous and legible, and shall conspicuously
disclose that, by signing the form, the subscriber consents to
having the subscriber's wireless telephone number information
sold or licensed as part of a list of subscribers and having the
subscriber's wireless telephone number information in a publicly
available directory; and
(4) if under the subscriber's calling plan the subscriber may be
billed for receiving unsolicited calls or text messaging from a
telemarketer, the provider's form shall be unambiguous and
legible, and shall conspicuously disclose that, by consenting to
have the subscriber's wireless telephone number information sold
or licensed as part of a list of subscribers or to be included in
a publicly available directory, the subscriber _may incur
additional charges for receiving unsolicited calls or text messages.

SEC. 18. Revocation of Consent. - A subscriber who provides express prior
consent pursuant to the preceding section may revoke that consent any time.
A wireless telephone service provider shall comply with the subscriber's
request to opt out within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 60 days.

SEC. 19. Exceptions. - The provisions of Section 17 shall not apply to the
following parties for the purposes indicated:

(1) To a collection agency, to the extent disclosures made by the
provider are exclusively for the collection of subscriber's unpaid
debt to the provider;

(2) To any law enforcement agency;

(3) To a lawful process issued by the court under the law;

(4) To a telephone company providing service between service
areas for the provision to the subscriber of telephone service


between service areas, or to third parties for the limited
purpose of providing billing services;

(5) To a telephone company to effectuate a subscriber's request to
transfer the customer's assigned telephone number from the customer's
existing provider of telecommunications services to a new provider of
telecommunications services; and

(6) To the Commission pursuant to its jurisdiction and control over
wireless telephone providers.

SEC. 20. Penalties. - Any director, officer or agent of a corporation who
shall authorize, order or perform any of the acts or practices constituting in
whole or in part a violation of Section 3, and who had knowledge or notice
of noncompliance received by the corporation from the Commission,
shall upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not less than One Hundred
Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) but not more than One Million Pesos
(P1,000,000.00) or imprisonment of not less than six (6) years but not more
than twelve (12) years, or both upon the discretion of the court.

In case the violation committed by. or in the interest of a judicial person
duly licensed to engage in business in the Philippines, such License to engage
in business shall also be immediately revoked.

SEC. 21. Authority of the Commission. - The Commission shall enforce this
Act in the same manner and by the same means as though all applicable
terms and provisions of the Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the
Philippines were incorporated into and made part hereof. The Commission may
prescribe regulations to carry out this Act.

SEC. 22. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part thereof, is held
invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not
otherwise affected shall remain valid and subsisting.

SEC. 23. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance,
executive order. Letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation
contrary to, or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed,
modified or amended accordingly.

SEC. 24. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication on the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved,