The Court of Appeals may have cleared the way for a telecommunications company operating in the Philippines and partly owned by a Chinese state-owned enterprise to secure radio telecom frequency that can be used to enhance China’s espionage and surveillance capabilities and endanger the Filipinos’ constitutional right to privacy, according to local telco Now Telecom.
In a petition filed with the Supreme Court last April 25, Now warned that the CA may have unwittingly given this scarce public resource to China Telecommunications Corp. – which owns 40 percent of Dito Telecommunity – which is dangerous given the heightened dispute between the Philippines and China involving the West Philippine Sea.
The Anti Red Tape Authority (ARTA) in 2020 ordered the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to issue to Now radio frequencies that it can use to operate its cellular mobile telecommunications service (CMTS) after ARTA ruled that Now’s application for frequencies with the NTC has been automatically approved due to the latter’s failure to act on said application within the period prescribed by law.
But the NTC refused to comply saying these frequencies were no longer available having been given to Dito which is 60 percent owned by the Udenna group of Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy.
Now went to the CA asking the appellate court to compel NTC to comply with the ARTA order but the CA denied Now’s mandamus petition. Now then asked the SC to reverse the CA’s denial and to issue a writ of mandamus directing the NTC to abide by ARTA’s order.
Now reminded the SC that China Telecom is under the control of the Chinese Communist Party and that being a state-owned enterprise, China Telecom is duty-bound to collect and store data. Now claims this is in support of China’s national intelligence efforts.
The local telecom firm noted how the US found mounting evidence that Chinese state-owned carriers pose a real threat to the security of America’s telecommunications networks, leading to the revocation of China Telecom’s license to operate.
In its petition, Now questioned why the NTC, despite having given it a CMTS license 18 years ago, has yet to assign the frequencies that it needs to roll out its CMTS service. Now said that without frequencies, the CMTS PA is a worthless scrap of paper.
After the ARTA order attained finality and immutability, the NTC belatedly filed with ARTA a motion to vacate its order and reiterated that the frequencies 1970-1980 Mhz paired with 2160-2170 Mhz which ARTA ruled to have been automatically assigned to Now are already unavailable. The motion was denied by ARTA.
In June 2022, then ARTA OIC Ernesto Perez rendered a resolution vacating ARTA’s earlier automatic approval order despite that having attained finality. ARTA based this action on a Department of Justice resolution issued in connection with another case involving private firm Newsnet which basically said that any dispute between the NTC and ARTA is within DOJ’s authority.
In September 2023, the CA 9th division dismissed Now’s mandamus petition on the ground that Now’s legal right over the frequencies was still in dispute due to ARTA’s rendition of the June 2022 order. Now filed a motion for reconsideration which the CA denied last Feb. 29.
CA’s denial is now the subject of Now’s petition with the SC.
Now said that the CA committed errors of law and contravened multiple laws and jurisprudence when the appellate court relied on the “midnight and void” June 2022 resolution of ARTA.
Now, in its SC petition, also noted the DOJ resolution cannot prejudice Now which is a complete stranger to that case. It added that the DOJ resolution was erroneous since it wrongly applied PD 242 which was applicable to disputes solely between government agencies and instrumentalities and not to those involving private third parties.
It added that ARTA’s order of automatic approval retroacted to April 22, 2013 which is the date when Now first asked for the frequency assignment. Given this, Now said that it has an earlier and prior vested right and interest over the disputes frequencies compared to Dito.
Mining summit
The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines has been meeting with the leadership of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Stratbase ADR Institute in preparation for the mining policy conference on May 10.
Titled “Revitalizing the Philippine Mining Industry: A Pillar for Inclusive and Resilient Economic Growth and Development,” the summit will bring together industry experts and stakeholders to work with government on actionable policy reforms that will address regulatory roadblocks in transforming the country into an important player in the green global economy.
According to COMP chairman and president Mike Toledo, this can be the golden age of mining, given an administration that recognizes mining as an indispensable industry as the country transitions away from fossil fuel to fight climate change, a Congress that embraces the same view, a DENR secretary who bases her policies and decisions on science and who consults with all stakeholders, and a global demand for critical minerals.
Speakers during the summit include DENR chief Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go, Australian Ambassador Hae Kyong Yu, Canadian Ambassador David Hartman, European Union Ambassador Luc Veron, Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya, COMP’s Toledo, Philippine Nickel Industry Association president Dante Bravo, Philippine Mining and Exploration Association president Joey Nelson Ayson, DENR Undersecretary Carlos Primo David and Stratbase president Dindo Manhit.
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