NTC admits failure to act on cellphone complaints

MANILA, Philippines - The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which sets cellphone rates, admitted that it failed to act on complaints submitted by mobile phone subscribers. The agency has been prevented from setting the expiration and duration of cellphone loads, among other rules, after a Quezon City court order temporarily disallowed the implementation of its guidelines, an NTC official said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday. These guidelines are contained in memorandum circular 13-06-2000 which imposes rules on billing statements, call rates, and the sale and use of prepaid cards, NTC deputy commissioner Douglas Michael Millillin said during a hearing of the Senate committees on trade and commerce and public services. The circular also covers interconnection agreements and penalties for violating its guidelines. Pending before the court for eight years now, the case has also prevented the NTC from forcing mobile phone firms to make SIM (subscriber identity module) cards last for up to two years. It has also prevented the agency from imposing a per second charging on calls. Implementing the circular would bring losses for Globe Telecom Inc., the Philippines’ second-largest mobile phone firm, Caridad Gonzalez, head of the Globe Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, said during the same hearing. Activating every SIM card – which stores a user’s mobile phone number and those of his contacts – has a carrying cost of P150 a month, she added. If the SIM card remains active and the cellphone owner fails to “load" or buy additional credits for his phone, the company would get nothing from the user, Gonzalez said. Globe’s average revenue per user is only P200, she said. For his part, Senator Joker Arroyo said that the court order practically emasculates the NTC and is tantamount to fighting the government, Arroyo, together with Senator Ramon Revilla Jr., chairman of the chamber’s public services committee, expressed his intention to review the franchise of telecommunication companies. “You handcuffed the NTC … which makes the regulations," Arroyo said. The court order has prompted Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile to propose the revision of the NTC’s charter. The law that created the NTC – Executive Order No. 546 issued in July 1979 – “may be overhauled" and its “powers may be strengthened," Enrile told reporters after the hearing. Senator Manuel Roxas said the agency should respond to the complaints if mobile phone firms oppose a congressional review of their respective franchises. Meanwhile, Senator Richard Gordon said the NTC has been remiss in its duty to protect mobile phone subscribers against some procedures and promotions offered by telecommunications companies. “What is the NTC doing to protect the consumers against promos that eat up their cellphone load without their knowledge? It appears that the NTC is not able to regulate the services of the telcos," he said. If there is something wrong with the law that governs the NTC’s mandate, the agency should take the initiative to solve the matter by seeking the help of legislators, Gordon added. - GMANews.TV