THE Senate committee on public services will resume its hearing looking into the selection process for the telecommunication industry’s third player on Wednesday.
The panel is investigating the award of third-player status to a consortium that includes the Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. (Mislatel), and whether the latter violated the conditions of its franchise.
“Our committee needs to settle the issue of Mislatel’s franchise for the public good. We need to hear the positions of various agencies and our fellow senators on this matter and we will come up with our position soonest,” Senator Grace S. Poe-Llamanzares said in a statement on Tuesday.
The committee will tackle House concurrent resolution No. 23 transferring the franchise of Mislatel to the consortium that won selection as the third player.
During the Senate panel’s Jan. 24 hearing, Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon maintained that Mislatel failed to comply with the requirements of its legislative franchise which was granted in April 1998.
Mr. Drilon said Mislatel did not inform Congress of the transfer of its controlling stake to new investors. He added that the company also failed to operate within a year after it secured the franchise.
Ms. Poe-Llamanzares noted that a new selection process could be more favorable to the public than allowing the operations of a company saddled with franchise issues. She said legal entanglements in the courts might delay the fast and reliable internet that consumers are seeking.
“On the other hand, if we made a decision immediately (that) Mislatel’s franchise is illegal, we can start with the bidding again, but it will be delayed for about three months… That is the result, so we will think, if we do not do our work in scrutinizing this, another three months’ delay or perhaps years or even a decade in the courts,” she said in a radio interview, the transcript of which was contained in a statement.
Ms. Poe-Llamanzares said the committee report on the matter is expected to be released next week.
Invited to the hearing are Acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra, Solicitor General Jose C. Calida, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) chairperson Gamaliel A. Cordoba, Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) chairperson Arsenio M. Balisacan and Securities and Exchange (SEC) chair Emilio B. Aquino.
Lawyers such as Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) president Abdiel Dan S. Fajardo, Philippine Association of Law schools (PALS) chair and Lyceum of the Philippines University College of Law Dean Ma. Soledad D. Mawis were also invited to the hearing.
Mislatel president and CEO Nicanor L. Escalante has said that the company was issued a provisional authority in 2001 and was ready to operate. However, he said the law and order situation in Maguindanao has not allowed them to operate.
The Senate panel will also discuss other transportation policies such as the option allowing motorcycles to operate as public transport and the operational issues of the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX). — Camille A. Aguinaldo
