MANILA, Philippines -Senate President Franklin Drilon is proposing around P10 million fine for a telephone company that may fail or won't send free early warning alerts to its consumers or the federal government whenever there are natural and man-made disasters and calamities.
AFP PHOTO
His proposal was on the list of amendments introduced by the Senate committee on public service when it endorsed Monday House Bill Number 353, which mandates telecommunication businesses to send free mobile early warning alerts in case of natural and man-made disasters and calamities.
Drilon said the Senate is supporting the passing of the bill, saying it “would help achieve the primary objectives of disaster preparedness which are to reduce the impact of the typhoon and eventually save yourself lives. ”
One of is own proposed amendments in the bill would be to penalize any telephone company that may fail or won't distribute warning alerts, with an excellent of P1 million to P10 million, or perhaps a revocation of its legislative franchise.
“Having been ranked because the third most disaster-prone country on the planet, it really is imperative for the Philippines to put on a mechanism to effectively disseminate early warnings of typhoons, ” the Senate leader said in a statement on Wednesday.
Drilon said the federal government can employ probably the most efficient and fastest way in sending out alerts in case of an impending calamity like a tropical storm, tsunami or earthquake.
Beneath the bill, the alerts should contain updated information from the relevant agencies, and really should be sent right to the cellular phone subscribers located near and within the affected areas.
Sending out alerts through cell phones, Drilon said, may be the most effective tool given the truth that the Philippines recorded the best amount of mobile phone users on the planet.
In line with the Business Monitor International (BMI) study, the Philippines is likely to reach 117 million mobile subscribers by 2016.
“As the texting capital of the planet, we are able to greatly utilize the instantaneous, flexible and reliable short message service (SMS) technology as a potent tool throughout disaster situations - one which is intimately comprehended and easily accessed by an incredible number of Filipinos who've cellphones, ” that he said.
