Enrile fumes over lost phone load 5/28/09 Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines – An irate Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday said he would summon officials of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to explain why subscribers like him were losing cell phone load even without using it. “There’s an expiration? Eh bakit nila tinatanggal? Di ko naman ginagamit. (Why did they take it? I didn’t even use it.) What is their right to confiscate my money without even so much as saying I beg your pardon. Aba’y ‘di pwede ‘yun (That can’t be),” Enrile told reporters.

The 85-year-old Senate chief said he had P387 load on the morning of May 25, but lost it in the evening without ever using it. “Then yesterday, I loaded P600. I did not use my telephone. In the afternoon it’s already P519. This morning it went down to P445. Inuubos, aba’y ang galing naman na serbisyo publiko ito (It was lost. This is some public service),” he said. Enrile said the NTC must explain why it was not able to monitor and protect the public from this practice, adding that subscribers should also not be charged for promotional messages.

He said he pities ordinary people who may only afford to load P30, only to lose it after three days even if they are not using it. He said the NTC must be alert to protect the public from these kinds of irregular practices and must explain whether it approved such charges.