MANILA, Philippines -- Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. has expressed support to a proposal in the House of Representatives to reduce the cost of short messaging system (SMS) or text messaging to P0.50 per message sent from P1.00.

Revilla, who chairs the committee on public services, said he would file a similar measure in the Senate so that telecommunication firms would share the “burden” of consumers during these hard times.

“The figures submitted to the House shows that telcos can absorb this reduction. This will greatly help the public especially now when every centavo counts,” he said in a statement.

“If it is true that the cost shouldered by telcos per text message is less than 20 centavos, there is still enough room for them to register significant profits,” he said.

Revilla said a counterpart measure that he would file would not only reduce the cost of text messaging but would also raise revenue for government.

“We will make sure that there is no additional burden to subscribers,” he said.