NTC seeks more teeth to go after text pranksters

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) will ask Congress at its next regular session to come up with legislation to empower the commission to cut the cellphone services of those found to be guilty of sending malicious and obscene text messages.

This developed as Transportation and Communications Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez is scheduled to send out on Monday the first text warning. Ever since word got around of NTC’s plan, the commission has been barraged with complaints, even from people who have been receiving death threats through text messages.

"Right now, all we can do is file cases against the complained cellphone user," NTC commissioner Eliseo Rioo told The STAR.

The NTC earlier planned to issue an order to clamp down on senders of malicious text messages. Under the plan, the commission will first send out three messages warning the sender of the malicious message, after which the NTC can have the cellphone service cut.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR), however, scored the NTC plan, saying that this deprives the citizens of their right to property, which is enshrined in the Constitution.

Rio said what NTC wants is a law that will make it very clear that the commission will have the authority to cut the cellphone services of senders of obscene text messages.

Rio and CHR chairperson Aurora Navarette-Recina met late Monday afternoon at the latter’s office where Rio was finally able to convince Recina of the merits of NTC’s plan to send text warnings to those who have been the subject of complaints by cellphone owners who have been receiving malicious, obscene, or sometimes threatening text messages.

"I explained to chairperson Recina the procedure and she accepted it. We assured her that were are not going to summarily cut the cellphone service of the complained user without a court order," Rio said.

The NTC chief also met with representatives of the cellphone companies – Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, Pilipino Telephone Co., Isla Communications – yesterday morning to iron out the technical details of the plan.

The warning will be contained in 160 characters and NTC is asking the cellphone companies that it be given an exclusive number which cannot be hacked or tampered with.