Jose de Venecia. INQUIRER file photo
Globe Telecoms has asked a Quezon City court to dismiss Jose de Venecia III’s civil suit over reduced rates for interconnected text messages as the petitioner reportedly pays an even lower fee for each text message.
In its 59-page answer, the telecom firm revealed that De Venecia, their subscriber under plan P1,799, pays only 50 centavos, not P1, per message.
He also enjoys unlimited calls and texts within the network, Globe 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 P0.50; thus he cannot claim any right to redress for injury where no such injury exists,” Globe argued.
The telecoms giant submitted its answer yesterday to Judge Ralph Lee of Regional Trial Court Branch 83, which is hearing 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 telcos from charging more than 80 centavos for interconnected texts in light of an National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) memorandum regulating the interconnection fee at 15 centavos.
Prior to this ruling, the interconnection charge imposed by telcos was at 35 centavos.
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 telcos.
De Venecia also asked to be awarded at least P2,000 a month since December 2011 “due to the illegal collection of more than P0.80 per interconnected SMS” and P100,000 in exemplary damages that the petitioner is seeking “for the good of the public.”
He added that the new fees were supposed to take effect on Nov. 30, 2011, but telcos still continued to charge P1 for each text message sent to rival carriers.
But Globe, through lawyers Rodolfo Salalima and Derek Lim, argued that De Venecia is not entitled to the writ of mandamus or any relief since he is not paying P1 per text.
“There can be no violation or invasion of that right (to demand a reduction in the SMS retail charge of P 1 to P 0.80) to speak of, much less a material or substantial one,” it said.
The firm added that the NTC memorandum did not say anything about reducing the text rates to 80 centavos.
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.