THE Office of the Ombudsman has ordered former Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) director general Jeremiah Belgica and four other agency officials dismissed from their posts for grave misconduct for the anomalous grant of telecommunication frequencies to NOW Telecom Company Inc. in 2021.
Ombudsman Samuel Martires approved the findings of the special panel of four investigators that found the respondents showed “clear intent to violate the law and flagrant disregard of established rules.”
Apart from Belgica, also ordered removed from their posts were former deputy director general Eduardo Bringas, Investigation, Enforcement, and Litigation Division (IELD) chief Sheryl N. Pura-Sumangil, and IELD directors Jedrek Ng and Melamy A. Salvadora-Asperin.
Belgica, Bringas, Pura-Sumangil, Ng, and Salvadora-Asperin were suspended last year by Malacañang over the same issue.
“In the event that (dismissal) can no longer be enforced due to separation from the service, the same shall be converted into a fine in the amount equivalent to respondents’ salary for one year …and may be deductible from their retirement benefits, accrued leave credits or any receivables by respondents,” the Ombudsman declared.
Accessory penalties of cancellation of Civil Service Eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and perpetual disqualification to hold public office were likewise imposed.
The administrative case stemmed from a complaint filed last year by DITO Telecommunity Inc. alleging that the action of ARTA officials placed it at a disadvantage in its dispute with NOW Telecom concerning the distribution of contingent frequencies.
At the center of the issue was ARTA’s Resolution dated March 1, 2021 and the Order of Automatic Approval that compelled the NTC to assign contingent frequencies in favor of NOW even if these were supposed to be reserved for DITO, which won the bid in 2018 as the country’s New Major Player (NMP) in the telecommunications industry.
Respondents argued that DITO and the government suffered no actual injury since the telecom firm’s interests over the contingent frequencies were merely conditional, subject to the outcome of a pending case before the Supreme Court.
They likewise invoked good faith as a justification, saying the function of ARTA was limited to a determination of the completeness of an application without delving into the rights and obligations of the parties.
However, the Ombudsman noted that during the October 18, 2022 clarificatory hearing attended by the respondents and DITO with their respective counsels, it was established that the ARTA simply relied on the “affidavit of completeness” submitted by NOW Tel.
The investigation panel noted that the respondents had prior knowledge that NOW Tel was already found by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to be non-compliant with its requirements, hence disqualified from the assignment of 3G frequency bands due to unsettled supervision and regulation fees (SRF) and spectrum user fees (SUF).
It added that while a provisional authority was issued to NOW Tel dated January 3, 2006, this was not 3G specific and was premised on the condition that the outstanding SRF and SUF are paid.
As of September 14, 2020, the Ombudsman noted that NOW Tel’s provisional authority was extended for 36 months still subject to payment of the outstanding SRF and SUF.
The investigation panel said respondents were also informed beforehand that 1970 MHz – 1980 MHz paired with 2160 MHz to 2170 MHz and 3.6 GHz to 3.8 GHz — the contingent frequencies — were the subject of a pending case before the Supreme Court.
Still with the issuance by the NTC of Memorandum Circular No. 09-09-2018, it pointed out that the said frequencies were already set aside for assignment to DITO and hence may no longer be given to any entity.
“Notwithstanding that and in an obvious favoritism to NOW Tel. respondents, through the 01 March 2021 ARTA Resolution and OAA, assigned the Contingent frequencies,” the panel said.
“These circumstances show respondents’ capriciousness and arbitrariness in the issuance of the 01 March 2021 ARTA Resolution, OAA, Omnibus Order, and Minute Resolution. It was issued whimsically with conscious and deliberate intent to do injustice, hence, constitutive of Grave Misconduct,” it added.
