THE Senate Committee on Public Services has deferred the approval of the franchise applications of NOW Cable and News and Entertainment Network Corporation (NEWSNET), sister companies of NOW Telecom that the National Telecommunications Commission says owes the government at least P2.6 billion in unpaid supervision and regulation fees (SRF) and penalties.
“For now, and I don’t want any more to delay this (public hearing), we will have to defer this one,” committee head Sen. Grace Poe said during the recent hearing conducted to review applications for franchises submitted by various private companies.
The Senate panel learned during the hearing that NOW Cable and NOW Telecom have the same owners, as confirmed by the two firms’ parent company NOW Corp. president Henry Abes, who said: “Yes, it’s the same owners.”
Reading from her notes, Poe said the NTC has been seeking a P2.6 billion payment from NOW Telecom in unpaid SRF and penalties that have accumulated since 2004, an amount computed with the help of the Commission on Audit.
She added the NTC, through the Office of the Solicitor General, has filed a motion with the Supreme Court reiterating the unpaid obligation. The motion is pending before the High Tribunal.
Sought for comment on NOW Cable’s application for franchise, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba confirmed to the committee that NOW Cable owners were the same people who own NOW Telecom.
