By Hannah Torregoza
A proposed measure in the Senate, the SULIT Load Act (Senate Bill No. 2402), seeks to reduce default prepaid call and text rates and strengthen consumer protections against unfair load deductions and unclear promo pricing.
The bill mandates the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), in coordination with the DICT, DTI, and Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), to review and rationalize regular prepaid rates for SMS, mobile calls, data, and mobile‑to‑landline calls.
The review would be based on actual costs, competition, prevailing promo rates, consumer usage, and regional pricing.
Pending completion of the review, the measure sets interim maximum default rates of ₱0.50 per SMS, ₱2.00 per minute for domestic mobile calls, and ₱3.00 per minute for mobile‑to‑landline calls.
The proposed law also requires telecom providers to disclose the effective cost per gigabyte of data, call minute, SMS, and landline call minute in every promo, along with the total price, validity period, restrictions, and treatment of unused allocations. This aims to make promo comparisons more transparent and prevent subscribers from losing prepaid value they have already paid for.
It further addresses the high cost of calling landlines and essential service hotlines, such as those of banks, hospitals, schools, utilities, airlines, and government offices.
Government agencies providing frontline services would be required to establish at least one mobile‑accessible contact channel so citizens are not forced to rely solely on costly landline numbers.
Senator Loren Legarda, who filed the measure, stressed that the reform is long overdue.
“Telecommunications technology has changed tremendously. Networks are faster, the volume of calls, texts, and data is much higher, and there is an abundance of affordable promos. It is therefore reasonable to ask: why do standard rates for texts and calls seem stuck in the past?”
She added: “If it is possible to offer very affordable calls, texts, and data through various promos, there should also be reasonable pricing for standard usage. A subscriber shouldn’t be penalized simply because their promo has expired or they need to make an urgent call.”
