EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
]
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
]
F irs t R e g u la r Session 
]
SENATE
o 
o
S.B. No.
965
'iC (itP oi ■'u
*19 JUL 11 PI ;25
RuCLii' -
In tro d u c e d  by SEN. WIN GATCHALIAN
AN ACT
PROHIBITING ALL PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS ENTITIES AND 
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS 
FROM IMPOSING AN EXPIRATION PERIOD ON THE VALIDITY OF 
PREPAID LOAD CREDITS AND THEIR FORFEITURE
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This legislation seeks to m ake the expiration and forfeiture of all 
denom inations of prepaid load credits a thing of the past. It will have an 
im pact on 142,432,163 prepaid subscribers -  th at is 96.6% of the total 
num ber of mobile subscribers1 in the country as of the first quarter of 2019 -
Globe*
PLDT**
TOTAL
POSTPAID
2,642,734
2,363,689 
of which:
Sm art: 1,464,873 
Sun: 
898,616
5,006,423
(3.4%)
PREPAID
80,846,966 
of which:
Globe: 39,328,681 
TM: 
41,518,285
61,585,197 
of which:
Sm art: 22,011,859 
Sun: 
6,041,687
TNT: 
33,531,651
142,432,163
(96.6%)
Q1 201 9  TOTAL 
Mobile
Subscribers***
8 3 ,4 8 9 ,7 0 0
6 3 ,9 4 8 ,8 8 6
147,438,586
* 
GLOBE 
from 
SEC 
Form 
17-Q 
2019 
(April 
23, 
2019) 
Accessible 
thru:
https: / / www.globe.com. ph / content / dam  / globe / brie/A bout-us/ investor-


who stand to lose their hard-earned prepaid load credits due to non-use 
before the expiration period.
The National Telecom m unications Commission (NTC)* 2, the D epartm ent 
of Information and Com m unications Technology (DICT)3, and the D epartm ent 
of Trade and Industry (DTI)4, p u rsu an t to their respective m andates, signed 
on December 20, 2017 Joint M em orandum  Circular No. 05-12-2017.5 It 
prescribed the validity of prepaid load credits of all information and 
com m unications technology (ICT) providers and public telecom m unications 
entities (PTEs) with a denom ination of PhPSOO and above to one year effective 
last Jan u ary  5, 2018. The following were excluded from its coverage: (1) 
prepaid loads purchased for promos; and (2) bucket of services with specific 
period of use duly approved by the DTI a n d /o r the NTC.
The 2017 circular am ended M em orandum  Circular No. 03-07-20096 
which provided for the expiration periods of prepaid loads depending on the 
am ount of credits purchased. Prepaid loads with higher value had longer 
expiration or validity period. This system  was based on an analysis conducted 
in 2009 involving 75.57 million prepaid subscribers with the corresponding 
carrying cost per prepaid subscriber of around PhP3 per day.7 As more than 
90% of the costs of the networks are fixed, the carrying cost per subscriber 
decreases as the subscribers multiply.8
Ten years after the 2009 study, the num ber of prepaid subscribers has 
alm ost doubled from around 75 million to the present 142 million -  a clear
relations/ docum ents / SEC-PSE-Disclosures/ 2019 /Q uarterly / Q uarterly-Report-17Q / GLO- 
lQ19-17Q-v2.pdf
** 
PLOT 
from 
SEC 
Form 
17-Q 
2019 
(May 
9, 
2019) 
Accessible 
thru:
http: / / w w w .pds.com .ph/w p-content/uploads/2019/05/D isclosure-N o.-1255-2019- 
Quarterly-Report-for-Period-Ended-M arch-31-2019-SEC-FORM -17-Q.pdf
*** Covers phone and broadband subscribers.
2 Republic Act No. 7925, otherwise known as the Public Telecom m unications Policy Act of the 
Philippines.
3 Republic Act No. 10884, otherwise known as the D epartm ent of Information and 
Com m unications Technology Act of 2015.
4 Republic Act No. 7394, otherwise known as the Consum er Act of the Philippines.
5 Prescribing a One (1) Year Expiration Period for Prepaid Loads.
6 Otherwise known as Guidelines on Prepaid Loads, dated July 3, 2009.
7 NTC-DICT-DTI Joint M emorandum  Circular No. 05-12-2017.
8 Ibid.


indication of how the prepaid call and text industry has immensely penetrated 
the everyday lives of Philippine consum ers -  m aking prepaid load an essential 
commodity. Sustaining a schem e th at imposes the expiration of prepaid 
credits th at were purchased by the consum ers’ hard-earned money forces 
them  to consum e their prepaid load, albeit unnecessarily, to get the full value 
of the credits or risk forfeiture and be left with zero load9 -  a waste of the 
prepaid subscriber's money; an income for the PTE and the ICT provider.
This bill th u s m akes it a prohibited act to impose an expiration period 
on the validity of all denom inations of prepaid load credits -  w hether 
purchased via prepaid card or electronic load -  and the eventual forfeiture of 
such credits on an active prepaid account. Every peso spent by the consum er 
to purchase prepaid load credits m ust be usable until fully consum ed. In 
protecting the consum er’s every single peso, the telecom m unications industry 
will help in enabling the mobile economy bring the rapid technological 
changes and benefits of the digital revolution within the reach of the poor and 
disadvantaged, thereby creating prosperous and inclusive societies. I hope 
th at this legislation will be an instrum ent in realizing this goal, and I earnestly 
seek for its imm ediate approval.
t c h a :
9 h ttp :/ / W W W .congress.gov.ph/press/details.php?pressid= 10516
3


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
]
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
]
First R eg u la r Session 
]
SENATE
S.B. No. 365
or t
*19 Jill 1 PI ‘-26
RECEiV
In tro d u ced  by SEN. WIN GATCHALIAN
AN ACT
PROHIBITING ALL PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS ENTITIES AND 
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS 
FROM IMPOSING AN EXPIRATION PERIOD ON THE VALIDITY OF 
PREPAID LOAD CREDITS AND THEIR FORFEITURE
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the 
Philippines in Congress assem bled:
1 
Section 1. Title. -  This Act shall be known as the “Prepaid Load Forever
2 
Act of 2019.”
3
4 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. -  It is hereby declared the policy of the
5 
State to recognize the vital role of information and com m unications
6 
technology in nation-building. It likewise recognizes the prim ary role of the
7 
private sector as an engine of economic growth and guarantees the right of
8 
individuals and private entities to own, establish, and operate economic
9 
enterprises. However, as the Constitution provides th at the use of property
10 
bears a social function, the right of private entities is subject to the duty of
11 
the State to intervene when the common good so requires -  including
12 
protecting the interest of consum ers, prom oting their general welfare, and
13 
establishing standards of conduct of business and industry. Towards this
14 
end, the State shall im plem ent m easures to protect the consum er against


1 
unfair and unconscionable sales acts and practices, and provide information
2 
and education to facilitate sound choice and proper exercise of consum er
3 
rights.
4
5 
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. -  As used in this Act:
6 
a. Active Prepaid Account refers to a num ber with any activity involving
7 
voice, short m essaging system  (SMS) or text, mobile data, value
8 
added services (VAS), or any other telecom m unications service;
9 
b. Dormant Prepaid Account refers to a num ber w ithout any activity
10 
involving voice, short m essaging system  (SMS) or text, mobile data,
11 
value added services (VAS), or any other telecom m unications service
12 
within a period of one year;
13 
c. Information and Communications Technology or ICT refers to the
14 
totality of electronic m eans to access, create, collect, store, process,
15 
receive, transm it, present, and dissem inate information;
16 
d. Information and Communications Technology or ICT Provider refers
17 
to any entity in the ICT sector, which includes telecom m unications
18 
and 
broadcast 
information 
operators, 
ICT 
equipm ent
19 
m anufacturers, m ultim edia content developers and providers, ICT
20 
solution 
providers, 
internet 
service 
providers, 
ICT 
training
21 
institutions, software developers, and ICT-ES providers;
22 
e. Prepaid refers to the type of account th at requires its owners to
23 
purchase load credits before telecom m unications services can be
24 
used;
25 
f. Prepaid Load Credit refers to the m onetary value or the consum able
26 
am ount loaded via prepaid card or electronic load to a device that
27 
enables a subscriber to use telecom m unications services;
28 
g. Prepaid Subscriber refers to any person, natural or juridical, who
29 
avails 
of 
telecom m unications 
services 
from 
a 
public
30 
telecom m unications 
entity 
a n d /o r 
information 
and
31 
com m unications technology provider by purchasing credit in
32 
advance of service use. The purchased credit is used to pay for


1 
telecom m unications services at the point the service is accessed or
2 
consum ed;
3 
h. Public Telecommunications Entity or PTE refers to any duly
4 
authorized public telecom m unications entity th at offers voice, short
5 
m essaging system  (SMS) or text, mobile data, value added services
6 
(VAS), or any other telecom m unications services to the public for a
7 
fee; and
8 
i. 
Telecommunications refers to any process which enables a
9 
telecom m unications entity to relay and receive voice, data,
10 
electronic m essages, written or printed m atter, fixed or moving
11 
pictures, words, m usic or visible or audible signals, or any control
12 
signals of any design and for any purpose by wire, radio, or other
13 
electrom agnetic, spectral, optical or technological m eans.
14
15 
Sec. 4. Prohibited Acts. -  The following shall constitute prohibited acts
16 
of any PTE or ICT provider and are hereby declared to be unlawful:
17 
a. Im position of an expiration period on the validity of unused prepaid
18 
load credits, w hether purchased via prepaid card or electronic load;
19 
b. Forfeiture of such prepaid load credits on an active prepaid account,
20 
save for the purpose of availing of the mobile num ber portability
21 
service; and
22 
c. Refusal to give a refund to any prepaid subscriber whose load credits
23 
were forfeited without any valid cause.
24 
In view of paragraph b, a prepaid account th at has become dorm ant
25 
shall be deducted one peso for every day of inactivity from its rem aining load
26 
credits until such credits are fully consum ed.
27
28 
Sec. 5. Penal Provision. -  Any director, officer, employee, or agent of a
29 
PTE or ICT provider providing prepaid telecom m unications services who shall
30 
violate any of the acts m entioned under Sec. 4 hereof shall, upon conviction,
31 
be subject to the penalty of a fine of not less than One H undred Thousand
32 
Pesos (PhP 100,000.00) but not to exceed One Million Pesos (PhP


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1,000,000.00) or im prisonm ent 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 H undred Thousand Pesos (PhP 
500,000.00);
b. Second offense -  a fine of One Million Pesos (PhP 1,000,000.00) plus 
suspension of license to engage in business for a period of thirty (30) 
days; and
c. Third offense -  a fine of Two Million Pesos (PhP 2,000,000.00) plus 
immediate revocation of license to engage in business.
Sec. 6. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). -  Within ninety (90) 
days from the effectivity of this Act, the National Telecom munications 
Commission shall coordinate with the D epartm ent of Information and 
Com m unications Technology and the D epartm ent of Trade and Industry to 
prom ulgate rules and regulations and other issuances as may be necessary 
to ensure the effective im plem entation of this Act, including the issuance of 
proper and adequate information dissem ination of its contents and benefits 
to the general public.
The IRR issued p u rsu an t to this Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
after its publication in a new spaper of general circulation.
Sec. 7. Separability Clause. -  If any provision of this Act is held invalid 
or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected thereby shall rem ain in 
full force and effect.
Sec. 8. Repealing Clause. -  All laws, decrees, executive orders, 
proclam ations, rules and regulations, and issuances, or parts thereof which 
are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed, am ended 
or modified accordingly.


1 
Sec. 9. Effectiuity. -  This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
2 
publication in the Official Gazette or in any new spaper of general circulation.
3 
Approved,