Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond “Mong” Palatino today expressed dismay over the temporary restraining order granted by the Court of Appeals following the complaint filed by Globe Telecoms etal vs. the National Telecommunications Commission on the per-pulse rate billing of cellphone calls.

Palatino, also a convenor of TXTPower, said that the TRO further aggravates the deregulated industry of telcos.

“It basically strips the NTC of its regulatory powers and allows big telcos to control prices at the expense of consumers. Worse, any progress achieved by consumers in the clamor for cheaper rates now become inconsequential because telcos are now permitted to go back to their previous rates. ”

According to the youth solon, a per-pulse billing would have benefited texters and consumers in that less-than-a-minute calls will no longer be charged the full rate. “Telcos should have been more considerate during these hard times.”

Palatino said that he has yet to read the complete text of the resolution as of press time “but we are discussing with TXTPower and other consumer rights groups on how to immediately address this issue.” ###