GUIDELINES ON PREPAID LOADS

WHEREAS, the 1987 Constitution fully recognizes the vital role of
communications in nation building and provides for the emergence of
communications structures suitable to the needs and aspirations of the
nation;

WHEREAS, the promotion of competition in the telecommunications
market is a key objective of Republic Act No. 7925 (RA 7925, for
brevity), otherwise known as The Public Telecommunications Policy Act of
the Philippines, which mandates that “a healthy competitive environment
shall be fostered, one in which telecommunications carriers are free to
make business decisions and interact with one another in providing
telecommunications services, with the end in view of encouraging their
financial viability while maintaining affordable rates”;

WHEREAS, Sec. 2.4 of NTC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 05-06-2007
provides that a subscriber can only be charged according to the rates,
terms and conditions he has agreed to;

WHEREAS, Sec. 2.8 of the same MC No. 05-06-2007 further provides that
subscribers of prepaid telecommunications services shall be provided
with a free mechanism to verify the remaining balance for his/her
subscribed service;

WHEREAS, MC No. 04-06-2007 requires public telecommunications
entities to retain the call data records of voice calls and similar
records for non-voice traffic;

NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to RA 7925, Executive Order (EO) No. 546,
series of 1979, and in order to protect and promote the interest of
subscribers/end-users of prepaid telecommunications services, the
National Telecommunications Commission (Commission) hereby promulgates
the following regulatory guidelines:

1. The expiration or validity of prepaid loads shall correspond to
the amount of loads purchased. Prepaid loads with higher value shall
have longer expiration or validity period. The minimum validity or
expiration period of prepaid loads shall be as follows:

Amount of Load Purchased	Minimum Expiration/Validity Period
PhP10.00 or lower	Three (3) days
More than PhP10.00 to PhP50.00	Fifteen (15) days
More than 50.00 to PhP100	Thirty (30) days
More than 100.00 to PhP150.00	Forty-five (45) days
More than PhP150.00 to PhP250.00	Sixty (60) days
More than PhP250.00 to PhP300	Seventy Five (75) days
More than PhP300	One Hundred Twenty (120) days

2. The validity period of the prepaid load shall commence upon receipt of confirmation of the prepaid load purchased.

3. Public telecommunications entities may offer longer validity or expiry period for prepaid loads.

4. For each new load that is purchased, the amount of the unused
loads earlier purchased that are still within the validity period shall
be added to and accumulate to the new load. The new minimum validity or
expiry period shall be based on the sum of the new load plus the unused
load. For purposes of illustration, if for example a subscriber has an
unused load of PhP2.00 and a PhP10.00 new load is purchased, the new
validity or expiry period shall be fifteen (15) days.

5. Access to balance inquiry service through text messages shall be free of charge.

6. Violation of any of the provisions of this Circular shall be a
ground for the imposition of fines and other appropriate penalties in
accordance with law.

7. Any circular, order, memoranda or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are deemed repealed or amended accordingly.

8. This Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
publication in a newspaper of general circulation and three (3)
certified true copies furnished the University of the Philippines (UP)
Law Center.

Adopted: 03 July 2009

(SGD.) RUEL V. CANOBAS Commissioner
(SGD.) JAIME M. FORTES, JR. Deputy Commissioner	(SGD.) DOUGLAS MICHAEL N. MALLILLIN Deputy Commissioner