By Denise A. Valdez
THE SUPREME COURT (SC) has reversed the appellate court’s decision to junk Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp.’s (PT&T) rehabilitation plan, the telecommunications company said on Monday.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday, PT&T said the High Court on July 11, 2018 issued a resolution that granted the company’s motion for reconsideration and reinstated its appeal against the May 2017 Court of Appeals (CA) decision that stopped its rehabilitation plan.
“Given the circumstances, this is a favorable decision for PT&T,” the company’s legal counsel Kenneth Joey H. Maceren said.
The Court of Appeals last year dismissed PT&T’s petition for rehabilitation, siding with a group of creditors.
Earlier this month, PT&T said the regional trial court (RTC) of Makati City, which acted as its rehabilitation court, has allowed the company to exit its court-assisted corporate rehabilitation on Aug. 6 “subject to compliance with certain requirements in line with the approved Rehabilitation Plan.”
PT&T chief operations officer Miguel Marco A. Bitanga told BusinessWorld in a text message on Monday that the company’s priority is still to leave rehabilitation.
“We just have to make sure we do whatever is necessary to exit rehab, and addressing both the rehab case with the RTC and the appeal with the SC would help ensure this objective is met,” he said.
Mr. Bitanga earlier said leaving rehabilitation would let the company raise additional capital in the stock market to finance its plans for expansion.
PT&T is vying to participate in the government’s bid for a so-called “third telco” player. PT&T Chief Executive Officer James G. Velasquez said earlier this month that leaving rehabilitation is “another proof” of its commitment to this endeavor.
