4 telco firms lose bid to get last 3G slot
BY ASHZEL HACHERO
THE Supreme Court has upheld two orders issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) disqualifying Next Mobile Inc., currently operating as NOW Telecom, and three other firms in their application for a third generation or 3G mobile communications technology.
Aside from Next Mobile, also disqualified in the NTC orders issued in 2005 and 2008 were Bayan Telecommunications (Bayantel), AZ Communications Inc. and Multi-Media Telephony Inc.
The four firms are vying for the last 3G frequency slot. The NTC had already awarded four slots to Smart, Globe, Digitel, and Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprise.
In a 44-page decision promulgated on November 13, 2023 but only made public on April 4, the SC’s Second Division junked the petitions seeking to overturn the NTC’s
consolidated orders dated December 28, 2005 and August 28, 2008 regarding the disqualification of Next Mobile and the three other firms.
“The National Telecommunications Commission’s consolidated orders dated December 28, 2005 and August 28, 2008 regarding the disqualification of Next Mobile Inc., Bayan Telecommunications, AZ Communications Inc.and Multi-Media Telephony Inc. in their application for a 3G radio frequency are affirmed,” the SC said through Associate Justice Marvic Leonen.
“The grant of the remaining 3G bandwidth assignment shall be within the NTC’s discretion, subject to the required application procedures as may be required under relevant laws, rules and regulations,” it added.
Concurring with the decision are Associate Justices Henri Jean Paul Inting, Mario Lopez, Jhosep Lopez and Antonio Kho Jr.
The SC order also granted the NTC’s petition questioning the 2010 ruling of the Court of Appeals, which virtually ordered the regulatory body to allocate the fifth and final 3G slot to Bayantel.
To recall, Republic Act 7925 designates radio frequency spectrum as a limited public asset, reserved for telecom providers demonstrating efficient use and embracing new technologies, with the NTC overseeing the frequency allocation.
In disqualifying Next Mobile, the NTC cited the firm’s unpaid spectrum user fees (SUFs) and supervision and regulations fees (SRFs) totaling P135.6 million as of December 2005.
In 2009, the CA denied Next Mobile’s petition and affirmed the assessments of NTC on its unpaid SUFs and SRFs.
The appellate court likewise dismissed the telco’s petition assailing its disqualification by the NTC.
The SC, in its latest decision, affirmed both rulings of the CA regarding Next Mobile, explaining that to qualify for a 3G frequency, the NTC mandates that the applicant must have no outstanding unpaid SRFs, SUFs, radio station license fees, permit fees, and other fees imposed in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
It added that it found no merit in Next Mobile’s argument that the NTC should not have considered its additional paid-in capital from its debt-to-equity conversion when it assessed its SRFs, contending that the subscription did not constitute part of its capital stock.
But the SC held that when Next Mobile converted its creditors’ liabilities to stock subscriptions, there was a corresponding increase in its capital stock.
“It is erroneous for Next Mobile to argue that this could not be considered as part of the capital stock since no payment was received when the liabilities were converted into equity,” the SC said.
It also noted that Next Mobile had an unpaid SRFs amounting to P126 million and SUFs of P9.67 million as of December 2005. “As the NTC pointed out, Next Mobile did not pay these fees even under protest. Next Mobile was, thus, correctly disqualified for non-payment of fees,” the SC added.
As to Multi-Media Telephony, the SC said it was “assessed as a non-cellular mobile telecommunication system provider and disqualified for failing to prove that it had the capacity to service 80 percent of the country’s provincial capital towns or cities and 80 percent of chartered cities.
Meanwhile, the SC said BayanTel was awarded by the NTC “zero points for its non-compliance under its previous authority as a Cellular Mobile Telecommunications Service provider to put up an operational network.”
It added that BayanTel only got 1.5 points for its “supply and engineering turnkey agreement with 3G equipment supplier ZTE Corporation.”
“Considering that BayanTel is expected to provide a vital service to the general public, it is not excused from compliance from requirements simply on the basis that its non-compliance was beyond its control. This kind of reasoning will only result in substandard mediocre offerings among telecommunications networks to the prejudice of the end users,” the SC explained as it junked the CA’s suggestion that Bayantel should have received 6.5 points due to external factors affecting its compliance.
On the other hand, the SC said the appellate court was correct in upholding the NTC orders which denied the application of AZ Communications for a certificate of public convenience and necessity, as it held the latter did not meet the qualifications established by the NTC.
9 ‘abandoned/surrendered’ properties listed by PCGG
valued at P72B
BY Peter Tabingo
THE Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has listed nine “abandoned or surrendered properties” at P72.157 billion in its 2023 Financial Statements, higher by more than P23 billion from P49.02 billion in 2022.
According to the 2023 audit report on the commission released last April 25, abandoned/surrendered properties are no longer contested by other parties since “ownership has finally been decided in favor of the government.”
“These are assets and properties voluntarily surrendered, assigned, or ceded or waived to the Commission as ill-gotten wealth, or through settlement or after judicial determination. Included herein are real properties surrendered to the government…by J.Y. Campos, Roberto S. Benedicto, Antonio Msrtel/Simplicio Palanca and Alejo Ganut Jr., and Jolly Bugarin,” the audit team said.
The most valuable item on the list is the Mid-Pasig Realty’s Ortigas Property consisting of two adjoining lots bordered on three sides by Ortigas Avenue, Doña Julia Vargas Avenue, and Meralco Avenue with a tag price of P70.628 billion based on a 2023 appraisal.
It is commonly known as the “Payanig Property,” having previously hosted the Payanig sa Pasig Amusement Park in the mid-1990s before being replaced by Metrowalk, an upscale dining, shopping, and recreation center.
In 2022, the PCGG Financial Statements listed the market value of the same property at P48.072 billion per assessment by the Asian Appraisal Company Inc.
The other properties in the list were the six Piedras lots covering a total area of 1.635 million square meters with a market value of P1.086 billion; a property in Gen. Mariano Alvarez, Cavite worth P328.766 million; and the former Banahaw Broadcasting lot on Mabolo Drive, Naga City worth P89.28 million — all based on 2023 appraisals.
The remaining five properties were the Bacolod Real Estate Development Corp. (Bredco) property in Bacolod City (P569.85 million); a lot in Francisco, Evergreen, Tagaytay City (P13.076 million); a lot in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro (P6.7 million); a lot in Brixtonville, Caloocan City (P3.7 million); and a lot in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro (P1.17 million) — all based on 2022 appraisals.
The PCGG said its Asset Management Department contracted various appraisal companies to conduct a valuation of the properties since the commission has no record of the date and cost of their acquisition.
