Void 3rd telco award, taxpayer asks court
Credit to Author: JOMAR CANLAS, TMT| Date: Wed, 02 Jan 2019 17:13:56 +0000
A TAXPAYER has joined the petition of the Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (PT&T) to stop the government from naming Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co. (Mislatel) as the third telecommunications (telco) player in the country.
A 44-page petition for intervention was filed before the Supreme Court through a taxpayer’s suit by Marlon Anthony Tonson, who sought to join the petition filed by PT&T.
PT&T was disqualified during the bidding conducted by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) last November.
A Mislatel-led consortium was declared as the third telco player. China Telecommunication Corp. (China Telecom) will have a 40-percent stake in Mislatel. Filipino holding firm Udenna Corp. owns 35 percent, while its subsidiary, Chelsea Logistics, will have 25 percent.
Tonson urged the Supreme Court to nullify the awarding to Mislatel consortium of the third telco slot due to violations of the 1987 Constitution in the bidding procedure implemented by the NTC, particularly the selection rules under Memorandum Circular (MC) 09-09-18.
“MC No. 09-09-2018 is unconstitutional as it contravenes the constitutional policy and statutory provisions on free competition,” petitioner argued, citing the exorbitant P1-million fee for selection documents and P700-million participation security that he said were a “substantial deterrent to a more participative selection process.”
To prove his legal standing, Tonson said he was a telco consumer.
He argued that there was grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess or jurisdiction when the NTC allowed the bidding to push through despite questions on the legality and constitutionality of the process.
‘China will run 3rd telco’
He claimed the bidding rules of the NTC were in violation of the 1987 Constitution, citing the lack of proper screening tests necessary to ensure compliance with the 60-40 rule on foreign ownership in public utilities under Section 11, Article 12 of the Charter.
Tonson questioned whether a foreign government, through a state enterprise, is allowed to partly own a public utility in the Philippines.
“What remains unclear, however, is whether Section 11, Article 12 permits a situation where a foreign State, acting through its government-owned enterprise, can own any part of a government utility,” the petition averred.
“Given such distinctions, a different rule must therefore apply when it comes to the issue of ownership in a public utility by a foreign State, whether directly or indirectly through a government-owned enterprise,” it alleged.
In addition, there was a violation of national sovereignty and security under MC 09-09-18, as there was a “lack of necessary safeguard against intrusions to individual and national security.”
“It is essentially the Chinese government, acting through a state-owned enterprise, that would operate the Philippines’ third telecommunications utility. Considering that the gathering of sensitive information has been legislated by China as a state policy, it is expected that China Telecom will unwaveringly abide by the [National Intelligence Law of China],” it was pointed out.
“Threats to Philippine security can develop into encroachments on sovereignty… The Chinese government will be placed in a strategic position to intrude into fundamental liberties,” petitioner pointed out.
The post Void 3rd telco award, taxpayer asks court appeared first on The Manila Times Online.