It would be wise for government officials to temper or start managing public expectations regarding the soon to be announced identity of the “Third Telco” player to enter the Philippine market. For starters, there is public expectation that a third Telco player will magically increase the Internet speed in the Philippines or at least in Metro Manila. Before we even talk about increasing speed, it would be best if the public were made to realize how many months or years will the third player need or get in order to be functional and have deliverables? Then there is the expectation that a Third Telco will result in competitive pricing and promotions and last but not the least, people in outlying areas will surely be hoping if not expecting that previously un-served or under served areas will now have a better chance of getting mobile and internet services.
Having said all that, I can’t help but wonder how the entry of a “Third Telco” player will automatically result in an improvement of performance in the industry given how the government has essentially been inutile or powerless to force the two current players to up their game and expansion programs. Fact of the matter is that the DILG and Malacañang have failed miserably to combat the legalized extortion done by LGUs that require Telcos to apply and pay for SUPs or Special Use Permits for every cell site or tower they put up. To complicate matters, Duterte appointees were squabbling over who should be allowed to get into the business of providing or building cell towers.
In the end, what I fear the most is the possibility of the Telco industry following after the Petroleum industry where there used to be only four or five major brands, then came “liberalization” and now we have so many regional or provincial brands offering gasoline and diesel to motorists. The only drawback to liberalization is that it did not liberate the consumers from cartel-like pricing and weekly or monthly price hikes. In the end, we simply found more companies and rich families once again joining in for profit! So what real or legal guarantees does the public have that the government is not merely enabling yet another powerful family or business group to be the Third Telco player? What exactly is the plan or government program to make sure that the entry of the Third Telco player will result in what the public expects?
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Don’t look now but a number of cabinet members have recently found a way of dealing with media and it is a strategy where “anyone who wants a piece” of the cabinet member concerned will have to attend the cabinet member’s personally designed and hosted “Kapihan” in his or her territory and not in a studio or a media managed set-up. I don’t know exactly who came up with the idea but so far I know that Budget Secretary Ben Diokno has his own, then DOTr Secretary Art Tugade followed suit with his own Kapihan. Those who have not copied the model have been observed to give preferential treatment to a cable news group while promising but never keeping interview commitments with other stations or news outlets. Even Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has seemingly limited her interviews within Congress or her residence.
It gives the players a sense of control which admittedly is very strategic but it is known to backfire because media outlets will just as easily find someone easier and cheaper to interview rather than go through the unnecessary expense and complication of going outside studios and being forced to join sharks in a feeding frenzy. As the tambays in Rico Puno’s good old days used to say: “Eto ang piso, humanap ka nang kausap.” Here’s a buck, go find someone else to talk to.
Long weekends are great for catching up on domestic chores, projects, and family gatherings, even tidbits of “informal news” from the provinces. Last Saturday, while talking about car projects, a mechanic-friend of mine told me about how he was asked to rush the restoration of an old school car. He found it odd since the owner and buddy were previously very relaxed about the project. When he inquired from the owner’s buddy why the sudden rush, he was informed that the car owner was an official candidate for a town in Pampanga and his opponent the incumbent Mayor had made it known through the grapevine that a Jueteng Lord was backing him up and was good for up to P300 million!
So? What was the connection of the politics with the restoration project? The buddy told my mechanic friend that if the car owner lost, which he probably will given he does not have 300 million to burn, chances are the car owner will surely lose interest not to mention capital for the project. Three hundred million pesos just to become Mayor? I suppose he would be given how many million pesos he can collect a month from Jueteng!
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Down in Cavite I learned that two people I know personally were running against each other for Congressman in Cavite. One comes from a family of Traditional Politicians while the other has been in and out of local politics. When I asked my Sabungero friends who the preferred candidate was, they likened the runoff to a cockfight derby and called the match a “No bearing” match. In cockfighting they would be two contestants who have lost previous fights and whoever wins won’t improve his chances of being a champion or runner-up.
For my Sabungero friends, calling the two congressional candidates “No bearing” means regardless of who wins the election, it won’t change things or improve things for the district and their constituents because both are proven to be in politics to serve themselves. It’s one match where my Sabungero friends and their neighbors lose!
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