1Pacman Party-list Rep. Mikee Romero has filed a bill to protect telecom subscribers and penalize violators.
House Bill No. 988 aims to “promote the rights and interest of the consumer/subscriber, to foster the general welfare and to establish the correction standards for all business and industry”.
“It would cover all electronic communications and transactions,” says Romero.
Romero says it is the policy of the state to promote the interests of the consumers/subscribers; foster the general welfare and create acceptable standards or protocol for all business and industries; defend against all forms of deception, unfair and unethical practices and schemes; facilitate the proper implementation of the rights of the consumer/subscriber; and hasten the imposition of all existing policies and guidelines of the Consumer Protection Act.
It mandates all telcos to provide subscribers a copy of the sanctions made to their agents/personnel who were involved in acts of tampering, sabotage and other fraudulent schemes.
The probation will apply to all postpaid subscriptions under a service contract, regardless of the duration of the contract.
For violation, the telecom company will be fined not less than P200,000 for the first offense and not less than P500,000 for the second offense. In case of a subsequent offense, the penalty will include a fine of not less than P1 million and revocation of the franchise to operate.