35 agreements to be inked during Xi visit

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — At least 35 bilateral agreements are expected to be signed when Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Manila tomorrow for a two-day state visit.

The agreements will be signed and witnessed by Xi and President Duterte in ceremonies to be held at Malacañang tomorrow afternoon.

Details of the agreements will be released tomorrow when Xi arrives in the country.

Xi is expected to arrive at 4 p.m. tomorrow, after an earlier visit in Brunei Darussalam, and will immediately proceed to Malacañang for the usual honors and meet Duterte.

All the activities for the Chinese leader on his first day in the country will be spent at Malacañang, including the state dinner later in the evening.

Among the matters that Xi reportedly will take up during his visit in Manila is on telecommunications.

Sources said that aside from the increased infrastructure investments from China amounting to billions of dollars, Xi reportedly will announce more “gifts” for the Philippines during his overnight stay.

Xi’s upcoming visit to Manila is seen to hasten the implementation of China-funded infrastructure projects, amid observations that Duterte’s pivot to China is not paying off after all. One of those investments that will be highlighted is on telecommunications.

Xi’s visit comes at a time that the state-owned China Telecommunications Corp. or China Telecom has entered into a consortium with Davao City-based tycoon Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp. and Chelsea Logistics, named as Mindanao Islamic Telephone Corp. (Misatel), in a bid for the third telecommunication’s company (telco) in the country.

Xi’s visit is reportedly seen to further boost the bid of Misatel.

China Telecom is reportedly the largest fixed line service and third largest mobile telecommunications firm in China.

The National Telecommunications Commission has declared Misatel to have won the bidding for the third telco held last week, besting two other companies, PT&T and SEAR of former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson.

SEAR reportedly was disqualified for its failure to pay the P700-million security pay required of the bidding.

SEAR and PT&T have both questioned Misatel’s winning the bid for third telco.