Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Friday the proposed Prepaid Load Forever, which would prohibit the expiration of prepaid load and mobile data, would help students and business people amid the pandemic.
“Dapat wala na itong expiry date dahil itong load na ito ay binili mo na. In fact, in-advance payment mo na ito. Ganoon din sa data load lalo na ngayon sa panahon na ito, marami sa ating mga kababayan ang nag-oonline learning, ginagamit ang computer sa pag-aaral at madalas silang bumili ng load kaya timely itong proposal natin,” Gatchalian said in a Laging Handa briefing.
“Marami sa ating kababayan naging habit na ang paggamit ng internet sa pag-aaral at ganoon na rin sa pagnenegosyo,” he added.
According to Gatchalian, vice-chairperson of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, there are around 110 million mobile phone users in the Philippines. Most of them consume prepaid loads and data.
“Marami sa atin dala-dalawa ang cellphone, dala-dalawa ang numero… Almost 80% ng ating subsribers ay prepaid buyers,” Gatchalian said.
Prepaid Load Forever bill to benefit students, entrepreneurs
Senate Bill No. 365 or the Prepaid Load Forever Act covers prepaid cards and electronic loads for services that offer voice, short messaging system (SMS) or text, mobile data, value-added services (VAS), and those loaded to devices that make use of the internet such as tablets, Wi-Fi dongles or mobile hotspots.
Under the Prepaid Load Forever Act, violators would have to pay fines ranging from P100,000 to as much as P2-million and imprisonment of two to six years. It would also immediately revoke the license of businesses that would violate the bill’s provisions.
Currently, Gatchalian said P300 prepaid load has one-year validity while those with higher value have a longer expiration period.
The senator earlier said that the load credit expiry policy is unjustified as consumers must consume the load credits.
“The harsh reality in this era of coronavirus pandemic is that we rely on information and communication technologies (ICT) in our daily life. And for those with limited resources, every peso counts,” Gatchalian said.
He added this policy is “anti-consumer” because this kind of service depends on the subscribers’ usage. The senator said that customers should be given a choice on whether to consume all of their load credits.