No favors given to Dennis Uy in selection of third telco–DICT exec

DICT Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. INQUIRER file photo

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Eliseo Rio, Jr. on Wednesday denied allegations that the consortium of Davao businessman Dennis Uy and China, which won provisional rights to establish a third telco, was given favor by the government.

Rio asserted that Mislatel consortium won because the other bidders, Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (PT&T) and Sear, which includes former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, failed to meet the bidding requirements.

“They were disqualified not because of us favoring Dennis Uy. They were disqualified because of requirements that they must put in but they did not,” Rio said in an interview over ABS CBN News Channel.

“So how can we say that we disqualified the two to favor Dennis Uy,” he added.

Rio said that PT&T failed to submit a certification of 10 years experience while Sear failed to pay a P700-million participation bond.

Answering allegations that the selection process favored Mislatel because Dennis Uy was a supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, Rio insisted that the selection process did not look at personalities, only at documents.

“We did not look at personalities, we looked at documents. Not personalities. We did not look at whoever are close to the President. We looked at merely documents,” RIo said.

The DICT chief also said that the DICT crafted an “ironclad” terms of reference, which took them almost a year, so that it would not be contested.

“That is what we have been very careful in crafting the terms of reference. We know that in the Philippines, there will be no losers, we will be brought to court, we will be bashed,” Rio said.

“But the terms of reference, we made it so ironclad that they can bring us to court but they will be just wasting their time and money,” he added. /jpv

RELATED STORY

Palace welcomes entry of third telco Mislatel