MANILA, Philippines – An irate Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday said he would summon officials of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to explain why subscribers like him were losing cell phone load even without using it.
“There’s an expiration? Eh bakit nila tinatanggal? Di ko naman ginagamit. (Why did they take it? I didn’t even use it.) What is their right to confiscate my money without even so much as saying I beg your pardon. Aba’y ‘di pwede ‘yun (That can’t be),” Enrile told reporters.
The 85-year-old Senate chief said he had P387 load on the morning of May 25, but lost it in the evening without ever using it.
“Then yesterday, I loaded P600. I did not use my telephone. In the afternoon it’s already P519. This morning it went down to P445. Inuubos, aba’y ang galing naman na serbisyo publiko ito (It was lost. This is some public service),” he said.
Enrile said the NTC must explain why it was not able to monitor and protect the public from this practice, adding that subscribers should also not be charged for promotional messages.
“Why should they send me messages that I do not want? We are going to look into this,” he said.
“Panloloko talaga (This is a scam). My God, what is their right? What is the ground for them to charge me for something if I’m not using their line or using their service?” he asked.
Enrile said subscribers should also not be receiving unsolicited messages. “I don’t like them to be texting me, these telecom companies. What for? And if they do, they should be the one paying for it, not me. And I’m going to raise this issue, not for my sake but for the sake of the public,” he said.
He said he pities ordinary people who may only afford to load P30, only to lose it after three days even if they are not using it.
He said the NTC must be alert to protect the public from these kinds of irregular practices and must explain whether it approved such charges.
“Ano’ng batas nagpapahintulot sa kanila (What law allowed them to do that)? That is estafa, my goodness, that’s cheating. Fraud against the customer. Kaya gagawa ako ng anti-trust law para makulong yang mga ganyan dyan (That’s why I’m going to pass an anti-trust law so we can send those responsible to prison),” Enrile said.
Asked whether telecom companies would also be summoned, Enrile said he was not making any judgment and would like to hear from NTC first.