Consumers have the right to use their prepaid load and mobile data as much as they can since they paid for it, so said Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.

Gatchalian, vice chair of the Senate Economic Affairs Committee, said he doesn’t understand the concept of why major communication networks have to impose expiry dates on mobile data when it is paid for by the consumers.

“Kung matatandaan natin yung gift check ngayon bawal na magkaroon ng expirty date. So kung bibili ka ng gift check sa mall, panghabang buhay mo na pwedeng gamitin itong gift check, hindi na nilalagyan ng expiry date (If you recall, we stopped the practice of imposing expiry dates on gift checks. If you buy one at the mall, you can use it for a lifetime without any expiry date),” Gatchalian said in a DZBB interview.

“Parehong konsepto rin yung dapat i-apply natin sa prepaid load, sa call, text at data dahil kung binili mo na yung load nay un dapat sayo nay an at dapat malaya kang gamitin yung load mo kung kelan mo gusto (It’s the same concept we want to apply with prepaid load, call, text and data load because if you paid for the load it should be yours and you should be free to use it whenever you want to),” he explained.

Gatchalian had earlier filed Senate Bill No. 365, which prohibits public telecommunication entities and ICT (information and communication technology) providers from imposing an expiration date for prepaid load credits, regardless of the amount involved.

The bill covers prepaid cards, electronic loads offering voice, short messaging system (SMS), mobile data, value added services (VAS) and loaded devices that make use of the Internet such as tablets, Wi-Fi or mobile hotspots.

Violators of the bill would be fined P100,000 to P2- million and could face two to six years of imprisonment or revocation of their business licenses.

The senator said immediate passage of the measure is necessary considering that many families, students and entrepreneurs rely on mobile data to study and to run their businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Ang pinakamahalaga dito, hindi tayo napipilitang gastusin ang pera natin, kung ikaw ay bumili ng bagay, hindi ka naman pwedeng pilitin na gamitin yun or ibenta yun, sa atin nay un at lalo na sa ngayong may pandemya (what is important is that you are not forced to spend your money at once if you buy something, you shouldn’t be compelled to use it as soon as possible, especially now that there is a pandemic),” he pointed out.

The senator also said the measure is a reminder that telecommunication companies operate their franchise based on the privilege given to them by the public.

“Ang basic concept dito, binili natin to. Binayaran natin ito at dapat malaya tayong gamitin itong load nang hindi tayo pinepwersa, hindi tayo ginigipit para gamiting itong load na ito (the basic concept here is that we bought this. We paid for it and so we are free to use this load without us being forced to do so, and we are not being compelled to use the load immediately),” he stressed.