MANILA, The Philippines-The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has asked the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) to affirm a Court of Appeals decision allowing it to proceed with the implementation of a memorandum circular, mandating, among other things, a minimum six-second charge for cellular phone calls.
Aside from the per-pulse charging, other provisions in Memorandum Circular No. 13-06-2000, also known as Billing of Telecommunications Services, include removal of the 50 peso (US$1) buffer fund for the prepaid service, extension of the “shelf life” of prepaid cards from six months to two years, and delivery of monthly billing statements for postpaid cellular subscribers and landline customers within 30 days after each monthly billing cycle.
Court records showed that a few months after the circular was issued on 16 June, 2000, Isla Communications (Islacom), and Pilipino Telephone (Piltel), sought its nullification before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court for being unconstitutional.
The companies likewise asked the trial court to stop NTC from implementing the new billing scheme, pending the resolution of their complaint. Globe Telecom and Smart Communications later joined the suit of Islacom and Piltel through a complaint-in-intervention.
