PT&T asks Makati court to clarify term in selecting third major telco player

November 7, 2018

Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (PT&T) has asked the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) to compel the government to accept its bid despite the “discriminatory” requirement set by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to select a new major telco player. “PT&T is not asking the court to stop or restrain the third telco bidding.  PT&T is requesting  for the court to correctly interpret the term ‘national scale’ and in the meantime, compel the

NTC to accept the NMP [new major player] bid that PT&T will submit without the required certification, until such time that the case is finally settled,” said James Velasquez, president and chief executive.

“While PT&T has managed to secure all requirements in the TOR, the NTC has not been able to issue the company a certification that it has been in operations on a national scale for the last 10 years,” he added.

The NTC is set to open bids for the country's third telecom player at 10 am Wednesday as the Manila Regional Trial Court denied Now Telecom's bid for an injunction on the government’s selection for a third player.

“Now Telecoms has received an order from the RTC of Manila branch 42 denying its prayer for an injunction,”  the company said.

“The case will continue to trial where Now intends to prosecute its rights over the subject matter. The company is confident that its entitlements are guaranteed by law and legal proceedings including those in the Supreme Court,” it added.

Apart from Now and  PT&T, China Telecom, Mobiltel Holdings GmBH, Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp., the joint venture of businessman Chavit Singson’s LSC Group of Companies and TierOne Communications; Norway’s Telenor Group bought bid documents from the NTC. DMS