Globe Telecoms answers De Venecia rap

MANILA, Philippines – Globe Telecoms has asked a Quezon City court to junk Jose de Venecia III’s civil suit over rates for interconnected text messages as the petitioner pays an even lower fee for text messages.

In its 59-page answer, the telephone company revealed that De Venecia, a subscriber under plan P1,799, pays only P 0.50 per message and not P1.

He also enjoys unlimited calls and texts within the Globe network, the answer added.

“Petitioner clearly has no cause of action or legal standing to sue the telcos before this court because he himself is not paying P1 to other networks on his postpaid subscription but only P 0.50; thus he cannot claim any right to redress for injury where no such injury exists,” Globe argued.

The company submitted its answer Thursday morning to Judge Ralph Lee of Regional Trial Court Branch 83, which is resolving De Venecia’s civil case.

Globe asked the court to dismiss the petition for utter lack of merit.

Last month, De Venecia asked the court to stop the telephone companies from charging more than P0.80 for interconnected texts in light of a National Telecommunications Commission memorandum fixing the interconnection fee at P 0.15.

Prior to this ruling, the interconnection charge imposed by the telephone companies was P 0.35.

He also sought a writ of mandamus to compel the NTC to “promptly resolve” the issue of the P 0.15 fee being challenged by the telephone companies.

De Venecia also asked to be awarded at least P2,000 a month from December 2011 “due to the illegal collection of more than P0.80 per interconnected SMS” and P100,000 in exemplary damages “for the good of the public.”

He added that the new fees were supposed to take effect on Nov. 30, 2011, but the telephone companies  continued to charge P1 for each text message sent to rival couriers.

But Globe, through lawyers Rodolfo Salalima and Derek Lim, argued that De Venecia was not entitled to the writ of mandamus or any relief since he was not paying P1 per text.

The firm added that the NTC memorandum did not say anything about reducing the text rates to P 0.80.

According to Globe, the court has no jurisdiction over De Venecia’s petition as the Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over petitions involving quasi-judicial bodies like the NTC.

Globe said that even if De Venecia were to avail himself of prepaid services, Globe offers six all-network text promos.

It added that the choice was entirely the petitioner’s to make, and that such alternative options would be a speedy and extralegal remedy.