PT&T brings 3rd telco case to Supreme Court

MANILA, Philippines — Third telco aspirant PT&T has decided to bring its appeal regarding its disqualification from the selection of the new major player in the country’s telecommunications industry to the Supreme Court (SC).

PT&T executive vice president Renato Garcia said the company filed yesterday a petition before the SC to void the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)’s decision disqualifying its bid in the third telco player selection.

Garcia said PT&T representatives sent the NTC a letter yesterday informing the agency to secure their bid documents until the high court resolves its case.

PT&T had an option to file an appeal to the NTC’s decision denying the company’s motion for reconsideration on its disqualification from the selection of the new major player, but it decided not to push through with it yesterday, the final day of its three-day deadline to submit an appeal to the NTC.

Filing an appeal would have entailed a non-refundable fee of P10 million.

The NTC selection committee denied PT&T’s motion for reconsideration on Monday for its third telco bid, but the company said it received the decision paper on Tuesday.

Thus, PT&T had until yesterday to decide whether to file an appeal or not, which is three days upon receipt as provided for in the memorandum circular.

The NTC selection committee disqualified PT&T’s bid in the selection of the new major player for failure to submit a certification of technical capability from the NTC, which the company claimed to have requested from the agency as early as Oct. 18 or more than two weeks prior to the submission and opening of bids last Nov. 7.

PT&T said it has managed to secure all the requirements in the terms of reference, except for the NTC’s certification that it has been in operation on a national scale for the last 10 years.

Meanwhile, SEAR Telecommunications Consortium, a group led by politician Luis Singson’s LCS Group of Companies, decided not to appeal further to the NTC its third telco case.

The three-day deadline for the consortium to appeal its motion for reconsideration to the NTC lapsed Thursday, with the group opting not to file petition.

The group, however, intends to pursue filing a case in an appropriate court.

A consortium composed of Dennis Uy’s Udenna and Chelsea Logistics, China Telecommunications, and Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co. has been declared as the provisional third telco player.