By Mario Casayuran
The Senate economic affairs committee thanked Wednesday the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for the speedy issuance of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Mobile Number Portability Act (MNPA).
National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) (MANILA BULLETIN)
‘’With this, mobile number portability is finally within the reach of every Filipino,’’ Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian, committee chairman, said.
Gatchalian, however, noted that the IRR itself is not without flaws.
‘’It would have been a major win for consumers had there been less grounds to reject applications for mobile number portability. After all, we want to encourage consumers to avail this service, especially when they feel they are not getting the service they deserve from their respective networks,’’ he pointed out.
Gatchalian stressed that upholding the welfare of consumers is one of the primary reasons why he championed the passage of the MNPA in the 17th Congress.
‘’In keeping with this spirit, I believe that the NTC was able to draft a consumer-friendly implementing rules and regulations (IRR), especially in specifying the prerequisites for porting, and the terms of the time periods for cutover and the porting process itself, among others,’’ he added.