IKAW DIN? — Senator Mar Roxas, chair of the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce, shows his cellphone to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile at the hearing on the Senate chief’s complaint of the "disappearing e-load."
Senator Mar Roxas this week pressed the country’s top mobile carriers to address growing consumer complaints about pre-paid subscription services offered to millions of mobile phone users.
Roxas, chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce warned, Congress could interfere in the operations of the giant tele-communications firms if they continue to stonewall complaints related to services offered to their pre-paid users.
Roxas urged these communication firms to manage carefully their companies and respond to the complaints, Roxas said during the hearing into the "Disappearing Load" controversy exposed by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
"What you don’t want is for Congress to start writing up your Operations Manual and imposing limits, including the number of minutes for lunch breaks or your pensions. We are resonating the public’s complaint and if you stonewall these, we will take the necessary steps," he warned.
Roxas said, tele-communication firms have long been remiss in serving the public’s interest, noting that they have successfully tied the hands of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) from imposing strict guidelines on their operations.
NTC Deputy Commissioner Douglas Michael Millillin told senators the Commission has not been able to implement billing guidelines for telecommunication services and other value-added services offered because of an injunction issued by the Quezon City trial court branch 77 against Memorandum Circular No. 13-06-2000 on November 20, 2000.
The Circular, among others, sets the guidelines on billing statements, sale and use of prepaid cards, interconnection agreements and sanctions for violation of any provisions of the memorandum.
Roxas said Congress granted the franchises of the telecommunication firms on the assumption the industry would be ably regulated by the NTC. "But since the NTC has been handcuffed, the franchises are not operative.
The injunction implies that the law is not clear. If that is the case, then Congress can clean the law and make it clear, and therefore, there will be no more injunctions," he said.
"The bottom line is the consumer. We must address their concerns with compassion and understanding, and not turn a deaf ear. This is the public that we, as elected officials, swore to serve, and the least we could do is to listen to the people who are the very lifeblood of your business," he said.
Roxas announced the second hearing would hear more complaints from subscribers of Smart Communications Inc., Globe Telecoms and Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc. (Sun Cellular). /MP
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