President Benigno Aquino III signed last June 20 a law requiring mobile service providers to send warnings of impending calamities to consumers free of charge.

Republic Act No. 10639 or The “Free Mobile Disaster Alerts Act” was enacted into law last week. The law gives mandate to mobile phone service providers to send out alerts and up-to-date information on impending tropical storms, tsunamis, or other calamities to their subscribers. The alerts can be in the form of text messages, multimedia message (MMS), or email.

The alerts would be sent at regular intervals or as frequently as required by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) and other relevant agencies.

The law also stated that telecom companies cannot directly or indirectly charge their customers for said service.

Implementing Rules and Regulations are expected to be issued from concerned agencies like the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), NDRRMC, PAGASA, and PHIVOLCS.

Full text of the law can be found HERE.