Click here to download the Lozada_Souljaboy ringtone.

If that doesn’t work, try clicking here.

To download, right-click on any of the two links and choose “Save Link As” or “Save Tart As”.

Use it to express your protest against Mrs. Arroyo and your support for Jun Lozada.

The ringtone was made by multimedia group SIPAT for the youth coalition YOUTH ACT NOW!

In its own text message released at 6:00 pm, TXTPower called for public vigilance and said that the text rumors are aimed at scaring the public from taking direct action on Lozada’s testimony.

TXTPower said that the Arroyo’s “dirty tricks department” may be behind the text rumors.

Sunstar Cagayan de Oro reports that Globe has remained mum on the issue.

Globe owes it to the public to explain the reason behind the service interruption and when full service will be restored.

Malacanang, through Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, today said that it will not pursue a new tax on text messaging.

Had it pushed through, text messages would have cost P1.50, with P0.50 going to the government.

In a statement, TXTPower thanked the public for joining its texters revolt which started yesterday afternoon when the group spread Trade Sec. Peter Favila’s cellphone number to allow the public to send protest text messages to the cabinet member.

“Mr. Favila and the entire Arroyo government has backed off from the text tax scandal. This is a victory for consumers and the Filipino people,” said TXTPower.

The group said “the government should stop imposing new taxes, and to withdraw other taxes as well considering the repeated boasts by the President about the strength of the peso and other economic fundamentals.”

“The government will face a bigger revolt if it imposes any new tax or does not do anything to stop increases in prices of oil and basic goods,” warned TXTPower.

TXTPower led objections to the text tax by activist groups, a Catholic prelate, members of Congress and Senate and the public who all sought to defeat the proposed measure.

Favila, big business groups should apologize

The group had this advise to Favila: “Don’t do that again. Don’t impose any new regressive tax.”

TXTPower also said that Favila and big business groups who sided with him should all apologize over their “irresponsible statements about the use of texting by the public, their demeaning view of texting, and their proposal to impose yet another regressive tax”.

Favila and big business groups tried but failed to tag texting as a “sin”, comparing it with alcohol and tobacco.

Favila even called the anti-tax text messages as “hate texts”, TXTPower noted. “He has such low regard for sentiments of the public he is sworn to serve.”

“We would not be surprised if Favila charges his cellphone bill to taxpayers,” said TXTPower. “But what takes the cake is that he does not respect public feedback on the statements that he makes.”

Lower prices now!

According to TXTPower, the government should instead impose controls on prices of all basic goods, petroleum products, water, and telecommunications services.

“Inflation is said to be lowest and the peso is getting stronger. The government now spends less for servicing fraudulent and corruption-laden debts it insists on paying. It should be payback time for the public who have suffered for long due to high prices and high taxes,” said TXTPower. ###

Text Trade Sec. Peter Favila at 09178176110 with this message: NO TO TEXT TAX!

Full statement of TXTPower here.

TXTPower has long opposed any new tax on telecommunications.

“Mrs. Arroyo spent P692-million in public funds her 2005 and 2006 junkets alone. Another estimate is P8.2-billion for the past six to seven years,” said a TXTPower statement.

Joining TXTPower in twin calls for the rejection the text tax and a moratorium on the President’s foreign travels are the Computer Professionals Union, the League of Filipino Students and the Kabataan Partylist.

“Just imagine how much money the Philippines will save if she declares an end to her jetsetting lifestyle,” the group said, adding that “Without these junkets, we wont need any new text tax and may abolish the much-hated value-added tax.”

“We have lost count of Mrs. Arroyo’s many foreign trips — has she flown out of the country 100 or 200 times since 2001?” TXTPower asked.

True source of public cynicism

TXTPower said Trade Sec. Peter Favila was “being ignorant, callous and imcompetent” in denigrating the value of texting to the public.

“Texting is the de facto messenging standard today, because it is cheap. It is important to the public. It is used principally for personal and official reasons. The true source of public cynicism is not texting but the Arroyo government and its abominable projects such as this text tax,” said the group.

TXTPower said “perhaps Favila does not know anything about the costs of texting because the public pays for billions of pesos in the government’s communications expenses.”

Text, calls already taxed 2x

According to TXTPower, the Arroyo government at present collects 12-percent EVAT from all local text messages and calls, and another Overseas Communications Tax for international text messages and long distance calls.

As of end-2007, the Philippines has 55 million mobile phone users. Smart reports 30 million subscribers while rivals Globe and Sun each report 20 million and five million subscribers each.

Reminder to Speaker JDV

TXTPower also reminded Speaker Jose de Venecia of his commitment not to impose any new tax on text messaging.

De Venecia made the promise in August 2004 on the same say TXTPower launched a nationwide text barrage directed at the Speaker’s mobile phone.

“We expect the Speaker and the House of Representatives to not even consider any measure for a text tax. They have already expanded the VAT. They should not be too callous as to resurrect this Frankenstein,” said the group.

Violates DOTC policy of lowering prices

The consumer group also said that the text tax proposal runs counter to a purported policy of the Department of Transportation and Communications that calls on telecommunications firms to lower prices of their products and services.

A new tax will definitely jack up prices, said TXTPower.

Leading the pack in terms of number of subscribers is Smart with 30 million as of end-2007.

Second is Globe Telecom with 20 million.

Sun Cellular claims a subscriber base of 5.5 million.

How did these companies fare in 2007?

Continue here.

Read more here.

Unlike Unlimitxt which provided subscribers with three cheaper choices, and Unlitxt with two choices (one day or two days), the comebacking Unlitxt is now only good for one day.

FYI: NTC has not emailed back regarding the new TXTPower complaint.

We are asking the NTC to bring back Globe’s unlimited texting service and to rollback rates to pre-Feb. 1, 2007 levels.

Read more here.

For the second time this year, Globe Telecom stopped its unlimited texting service without any public announcement.

At a time when we expect a deluge of Christmas greetings through text, subscribers are now forced to avail of a so-called Sulitxt15 service that gives 100 text messages for P15.

Of course, it sucks big time!

We in TXTPower will write the National Telecommunications Commission a letter-complaint this week, to inquire what has happened and why it allowed the removal of the service without Globe at the very least providing adequate information to subscribers.

Last February, TXTPower filed a similar letter-complaint to the NTC regarding the stoppage of the original Unlimixt service.

The TXTPower complaint was backed by two online petitions signed by combined 6,163 and 5,793 signatories.

Days after, the NTC surprisingly acted quickly and issued two orders ordering Globe to stop its new Unlitxt offer pending hearings on the TXTPower complaint.

Globe acted like a big bad wolf and sat on the NTC Commissioner’s face. It did not heed the two orders and insisted that it is the company’s right to do whatever it pleases. Meanwhile, the NTC did not budge, did not lift a finger and did not sanction on Globe for violating its two orders.

What the NTC will do to Globe this time is for everyone to guess.

Don’t you feel cheated by Globe and the NTC? I do. Many do.