In response to the emergency situation in the Philippines touched off by Typhoon Haiyan, Hawaiian Telcom is now offering all of its residential home phone customers free phone calls to the Philippines through Nov. 30.

For customers with Hawaiian Telcom Long Distance service, calls placed to the Philippines going back to Friday , will not be charged. Home phone customers with Hawaiian Telcom International Long Distance plans who are making calls to the Philippines during the free calling period do not need to make any changes to their accounts in order to take advantage of this program.  

Customers who do not have Hawaiian Telcom as their international long distance provider may call 643-0929 to designate Hawaiian Telcom, at no cost, then begin free calling to the Philippines.  

The program will cover any direct calls to the Philippines.  However, calls to operators or directory assistance will be charged at the usual rate. Also, Hawaiian Telcom cannot override charges incurred by residential home phone customers for any calls using a different international long distance carrier.

While infrastructure challenges in the Philippines may prevent telephone calls from being connected, Hawaiian Telcom recommends using its high-speed Internet service to contact family and friends by way of email, or social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. 

Customers are also encouraged to refrain from extended telephone conversations due to the limited available capacity of the Philippines communications network. Customers should go to hawaiiantel.com/Philippines for the terms and restrictions applicable to this program.

In a news release issued by Hawaiian Telcom, its president and CEO, Eric Yeaman, said: “Hawaii’s people have always had a strong connection to the Philippines — for many local residents, the Philippines was once home. In this time of crisis, we’d like to make it as easy as possible for our customers to contact family and friends in the Philippines who may have been impacted by these tragic events.” 

In addition to free phone calls, Hawaiian Telcom is now providing free access to Premium channel, TFC (The Filipino Channel), Ch. 821 through Friday to all Hawaiian Telcom TV customers.