MANILA, Philippines — Congress will still have to scrutinize the capability and legality of the third player in the telecommunications industry before deciding whether to grant it a franchise to operate in the country, Sen. Grace Poe said yesterday.
The Senate committee on public services chaired by Poe is scheduled to conduct another hearing next week into the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)’s controversial selection of Mislatel consortium earlier this month to break the duopoly of Smart and Globe in the industry.
Mislatel is a consortium composed of Udenna Corp., a company owned by Duterte’s campaign donor Dennis Uy, its subsidiary Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. and the state-owned China Telecommunications Corp.
“We should also take note that it is a requirement under our laws that the third telco or its Filipino partner must secure a congressional franchise,” Poe said.
“In the end, transparency, accountability and integrity are always the benchmark for government projects and undertaking,” she said.
The hearing was supposed to be held tomorrow but it was postponed owing to the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The hearing is separate from the legislative proceedings for the possible grant of franchise to Mislatel.
Poe noted the government, particularly the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), has been working on a timeline for the bidding and selection of the third telco player.
“Something we badly need as we know that having a meaningful competition will translate to better service and lower costs,” she said.
Poe asked DICT and NTC officials, and Mislatel executives to give the committee a better understanding of what they have to offer to the public.
Poe said the panel has also invited national security experts and telco technology specialists to shed light on security concerns given that a foreign entity is a partner of Mislatel.
“While we have been assured by the NTC and the DICT that the selection process was without bias, we cannot be remiss on our duty and mandate to look into the matter,” she said.
Poe’s committee is also expected to investigate allegations of publicly listed PT&T and Sear Telecommunications of irregularities in the NTC’s selection process.
The NTC earlier disqualified PT&T and Sear Telecommunications, of which former Ilocos Sur governor Luis Singson is a major stakeholder, for having incomplete documents. The NTC also denied the two firms’ appeals to be reconsidered.
Senators Francis Pangilinan and Leila de Lima last week filed a resolution seeking an inquiry into the state of the telecommunications industry and government’s strategy on improving internet access.
“Beyond the selection of a new major telco player, a broad set of reforms is needed to promote greater competition and level the playing field in the telco market with the end view of improving internet connectivity and enhancing the welfare, experience, and opportunities of internet users in the country,” Pangilinan and De Lima said in Senate Resolution 933.