Senator Loren Legarda has introduced a legislative measure designed to slash standard prepaid mobile charges to align with modern technological capabilities, expanded network capacity, and actual consumer demand.
Under Senate Bill No. 2402, also known as the proposed SULIT Load Act, Legarda emphasized the necessity of safeguarding prepaid subscribers against unexpected load deductions, ambiguous promotional offers, and the forfeiture of prepaid balances.
The lawmaker explained that while advancements in telecommunications and promotional packages have driven down rates, default charges for those not using promos remain exorbitant.
“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,” Legarda said.
“It is therefore reasonable to ask: why do standard rates for texts and calls seem stuck in the past? It is time to align pricing with today’s technology and reality,” she pointed out.
The proposed law tasks the National Telecommunications Commission, alongside the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Philippine Competition Commission, to adjust standard rates for mobile calls, SMS, data, and mobile-to-landline calls.
The evaluation will factor in operating costs, market competition, promo rates, usage trends, and regional pricing differences.
Pending the review, the bill establishes provisional caps: P0.50 per SMS, P2.00 per minute for domestic mobile calls, and P3.00 per minute for mobile-to-landline connections.
Legarda maintained that standard load should not penalize users whose promos have expired or who need to make emergency calls.
“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,” she said.
The bill also demands increased transparency by requiring telcos to state effective per-unit costs alongside total promo pricing, validity periods, and rollover policies for unused allocations.
“When we buy rice, gasoline, or other products, there are prices and measurements that can be compared. It should be the same for mobile load. It should be easy to see the actual cost per GB, per minute of calls, or per text,” she said.
“The subscriber has already paid for that load. As long as the account is active, there is no valid reason for the money used to purchase it to simply disappear,” Legarda said.
Additionally, the measure targets the high cost of calling landline hotlines for banks, hospitals, utility providers, and government agencies, where users waste balance while waiting on hold.
“Waiting shouldn’t come at a high price. When a prepaid subscriber is placed on hold—whether at a hospital, a bank, or a government hotline—their load balance continues to be deducted even though they have yet to receive the actual service. That is precisely one of the issues this proposal seeks to address,” she stressed.
To further address this, the bill mandates that public-facing government agencies provide at least one mobile contact number for public inquiries.
“Mobile phones have become the primary means of communication for so many Filipinos. Public service must keep pace with this. A person should not have to spend a large amount of money just to follow up on documents, benefits, complaints, or government services,” Legarda said.
“This kind of protection is long overdue. The telecommunications industry has advanced rapidly, and consumers should feel the benefits of that progress—in terms of pricing, transparency, and how the prepaid load they paid for is handled,” she stressed.