Enrile urges cellphone users victimized by "disappearing load" scam
to bring cases to Senate

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile today called on cellphone owners and users who were victimized by the so-called "disappearing pre-paid e-load" scam to bring their complaints to the Senate congressional inquiry that will look into the matter starting tomorrow.

"I am calling on all cellphone owners and users, who like me, have been victimized by this so-called 'disappearing e-load' scam to bring their cases to the Senate tomorrow as we officially start the investigation of this anomaly," said Enrile in a statement.

"Ever since I brought up this matter in my privilege speech, I have been getting numerous calls, emails and letters from ordinary people who claimed they were also victimized. There must be millions of cellphone users who are victimized here," Enrile said. "Now is the time to register their complaints as we start the Senate investigation."

Enrile said telecommunications executives and concerned government officials have been summoned in the inquiry to be conducted jointly by the Senate Committees on Trade and Commerce and Public Services.

Invited to the Senate hearing tomorrow are representatives from Globe Telecoms, Smart Communications Inc., and Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc. (Sun Cellular), Transportation and Communication Secretary Leandro Mendoza, Trade Secretary Peter Favila, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, and National Telecommunications Commission Chairman Ruel Canobas.

Sen. Mar Roxas, chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce, said the inquiry was prompted by Enrile's privilege speech about the pre-paid call credits loaded into his mobile phone that "disappeared."

It will be recalled that three weeks ago, Enrile blew his top on learning that his cellular phone's prepaid load, bought from Globe Telecommunications, had "disappeared" even if he did not use it to make calls nor send text messages.

Saying that he was taking up the cudgels for millions of similarly situated prepaid phone subscribers, Enrile vowed to summon NTC officials to remind them "to protect the public," adding he also wants an explanation from private telecom companies on their policy forfeiting prepaid loads.

Enrile noted that most prepaid cards, once loaded, must be used between one and three months (depending on the amount), or the load credit will be forfeited. It has been a standard policy of telcos which consumer groups have criticized.

The inquiry will also look into other complaints of cellphone users forwarded to the Office of the Senate President, Enrile said.

In a statement, Roxas noted that the three giant telecommunications companies earned total gross revenues of P149.5 billion in 2007 from their estimated 57 million subscribers. Quoting industry players, Roxas said the current volume of text messages reaches 2 billion a day or 16,200 text messages per second.