Appellate court junks PLDT motion to keep Globe out of Global City

The Court of Appeals recently threw out a motion filed by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) to keep Globe Telecom and other telcos from servicing Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. In a 15-page decision promulgated on Friday and made available by Globe to media organizations Monday, the CA’s Ninth Division ruled that the petition of PLDT and affiliate Bonifacio Communications Corp. (BCC) to ban Globe from providing services in BGC "lacked merit." In its petition, PLDT claimed the NTC does not have jurisdiction over the BCC because the latter is a non-telecommunications entity. CA said that given PLDT's argument, BCC could still be placed under the jurisdiction of the NTC "due to the fact that it was acting in concert with a PTE (public telecommunication entity), namely its mother company PLDT." The CA pointed out that by (BCC’s) own admission, the BCC provides telecommunication infrastructure and value-added services to BGC, effectively placing it under the NTC jurisdiction. Under Republic Act No. 7925, the NTC is the principal administrator and regulator of all public telecommunication entities, "be it public or not, acting alone or in concert with a public utility." With this specific provision, the NTC in 2002 issued memorandum circular 05-05-2002, which declared BGC as a free zone "where any duly franchised public telecommunications entity will be allowed to provide high speed networks and connectivity." PLDT challenged this before the Quezon City regional trial court, arguing that "exclusivity is an industry practice and is not an abnormality." Both the NTC and the QC RTC ruled against PLDT, which prompted the latter to elevate the case to the appellate court. Globe said it is happy with the CA decision to dismiss rival PLDT's petition. PLDT looks at options "At the end of the day, Globe is after the welfare of the consumers, where they are empowered to choose their preferred telecommunications provider. Gone are the days when the market is dominated and controlled by a single operator," lawyer Froilan Castelo, Globe's head for corporate and legal services group, said in a statement. PLDT, on the other hand, said it is currently studying its options and would likely file a motion for reconsideration before the appellate court. PLDT's exclusivity arrangement with the BCC has been brought up by Globe during a Senate hearing on the constitutionality of the former's acquisition of controlling shares in Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel). Globe accused PLDT of employing monopolistic practices in the BCC, after the latter accused Globe of the same for the exclusive telecommunications services it provides in Ayala Malls. Ayala Corp. is one of the principal shareholders in Globe, along with its partner Singapore Telecom Ltd. The BCC, on the other hand, was incorporated in 1997 by the Bases Conversion Development Authority, the Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. (FBDC) and Smart Communications Inc., the mobile network arm of PLDT. BCC will have the "exclusive rights to install, construct, own and maintain all the necessary communications infrastructure" within BGC, according to an agreement signed by the incorporators. PLDT currently owns 75 percent of BCC shares of stock. — VS, GMA News