Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima has filed House Bill 9903 or the Prepaid Load Forever Act, which would remove expiration dates on unused prepaid mobile load and data credits.
Right now, prepaid load in the Philippines is protected only by Joint Memorandum Circular 05-12-2017, issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). That circular requires load to stay valid for at least one year. HB 9903 would put that same protection into law, and remove any expiration after the one-year mark.
The bill bars telcos from setting expiration dates on prepaid load, forfeiting balances on active accounts, or refusing refunds on forfeited credits without valid cause. It follows the same approach as Senate Bill 1095, filed earlier by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.
For SIMs left untouched for long periods of time, the bill lets providers deduct ₱1 a day from accounts inactive for at least a year, until the load balance is used up. Once the balance hits zero, telcos can reclaim and reassign the number.
De Lima said the current setup pressures subscribers to burn through their load before it expires. “It is unfair and inequitable to put expiration dates on prepaid load credits, as it forces consumers to use up their load or data prematurely to avoid forfeiting them. Lugi sa sistemang ito ang ating mga consumers na napipilitang ubusin ang load para lang hindi masayang,” she said.
She also raised a more basic question about ownership. “Malinaw na hindi ito makatarungan sa mga consumers. Bakit may expiration ang paggamit ng load na binili na nila at pagmamay-ari na nila?” she asked.
De Lima filed HB 9903 just days after House Bill 9859, the Student Discount Para Sa Load Act, which would give students a 20% discount on load, text, call, and internet services.
Telcos have not commented on HB 9903, which is still pending committee action in the House of Representatives.
