SC sets oral arguments on PLDT ownership case

The Supreme Court has decided to hold the oral arguments for appeals filed by various parties seeking a reversal of the ruling on allowable foreign ownership in telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT). During its regular en banc session Tuesday, the SC magistrates agreed to hold oral arguments. The high court, however, is still waiting for other parties to the case to file pleadings before setting a date for the oral arguments. "The court has set oral arguments but after all the pleadings have been filed," SC spokesman and Court Administrator Midas Marquez said at a news briefing on Tuesday. On June 28, the SC said that PLDT may have violated the 1987 Constitution by exceeding the allowable 40-percent foreign ownership rule. Voting and non-voting shares “Capital" refers to common shares that entitle holders to vote for company directors, the high court said. It clarified that capital does not refer to the total outstanding capital stock, which constitutes both common and preferred non-voting shares. Applying the definition, the SC then ruled that foreigners “unmistakably" control more than 64 percent of PLDT’s common shares which violates the maximum 40-percent foreign ownership in public utilities under the Charter. “In other words, foreigners hold 64.27 percent of the total number of PLDT common shares while the Filipinos hold only 35.73 percent. Such amount of control unmistakably exceeds the allowable 40 percent limit on foreign ownership of public utilities expressly mandated in Section 11, Article XII of the Constitution," the SC decision stated. After its findings, the SC ordered Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to check the extent of allowable foreign ownership in PLDT and to determine whether the company violated the constitutional limits on foreign ownership in public utilities. Those who have filed an appeal include the SEC, Philippine Stock Exchange, and PLDT chair Manuel V. Pangilinan. — VS, GMA News