TRO issued vs. cuts on free text
Victory for consumers, bane for abusive companies

Texters belonging to TXTPOWER applauded the Quezon City Regional Trial
Court' issuance of a temporary restraining order against the planned
66.6 percemt cut on free text by telecom monopolies, dubbing the court
action as "a victory for consumers and a warning to abusive companies."

"This a victory for texters who stood their ground against gigantic
monopolies. We thank the court for upholding consumer rights over
superprofiteering by already lucrative businesses especially in the
midst of economic gloom," said TXTPOWER spokesperson Anthony Ian Cruz.

The TRO was issued on request by the Philippine League for Democratic
Telecommunication Inc. led by TXTPOWER convenor Gerry Kaimo. Kaimo is
the webmaster of the satirical, anti-PLDT, anti-cartel website
www.pldt.com.

According to Cruz, they will continue with the texters' nationwide
boycott in order to persuage government to permanently stop the
monopolies from implementing any cuts in free text. "We are fighting a
powerful cabal of cartel operators who will fight for every cent of
extra profit. They will move heaven and earth to get more profits even
at the consumers' expense and through outright lying about their true
financial conditions."

"This is only a temporary victory. The fight for consumer rights goes
on. We expect Globe-Ayala and Smart-PLDT to mount a strong legal
challenge to the TRO," said Cruz.

The court will start hearing the case on Monday. On that day, Kaimo
would be formally joined by other TXTPOWER convenors as complainants
include triathlete Sandra Araullo, college professor Roland Tolentino,
campus journalist Rey Asis, student leader Raymond Palatino, radio
broadcaster Ruth Cervantes, visual artist Emil Mercado, environmentalist
Trixie Concepcion and activist writer Anthony Ian Cruz.