Gov’t to call Manuel V. Pangilinan’s bluff

The government has called Manuel V. Pangilinan’s bluff, saying it was unlikely that a decision on the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company’s acquisition of Sun Cellular would be issued this month.

The Aquino administration will decide on the merger of PLDT and Digitel at its own pace and will not be pressured by the “self-imposed’’ deadline set by Pangilinan, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said on Thursday.

Aug. 26 deadline

“As far as I know, we did not impose a deadline on ourselves. So we are studying (the deal) carefully, judiciously. And again, correct me if I’m wrong, as far as I know it was a deadline imposed by Mr. Pangilinan,’’ Lacierda told reporters.

Pangilinan, chair of PLDT, had earlier warned his group would walk away from the P74.1-billion deal if it failed to get government approval by Aug. 26.

But National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba on Thursday said the regulator was still studying all aspects of the transaction, wary of the consequences a merger of two of the country’s major telcos might have on consumers.

“We wish to point out that our current review is still within the first month of the 90-day period within which the commission is required by law to evaluate and decide upon petitions,” Cordoba told reporters on Thursday.

At NTC’s mercy

Sought for comment, PLDT regulatory affairs head Ray C. Espinosa could only say: “I suppose we are at the mercy of the NTC.”

Lacierda said the NTC was in charge of resolving the issue but acknowledged that President Aquino was “looking at the merger also.’’

“(The President) is interested to know the consequences or repercussions, that’s why it has to be studied,’’ he said.

Earlier this week, the NTC said its main consideration would be the interest of consumers. PLDT’s chief rival, Globe Telecom, which has opposed the deal, has argued that the merger would lead to a virtual monopoly of the telecom industry that the government must do all it can to stop.

PLDT currently controls about 55 percent of the local telecom market. Once it takes over Sun Cellular’s operator, Digitel Telecommunications Philippines Inc., the group will corner about 70 percent of industry revenues.

Globe has also asked the NTC to strip PLDT of some of its radio frequencies. These frequencies should then be awarded to Globe, being the only carrier with the resources to challenge a combined PLDT-Digitel entity, Globe contended.

Coverup

In its defense, PLDT said its acquisition of Digitel would create operational synergies that would lead to better services at lower prices, benefiting consumers.

PLDT lashed out at Globe, saying its demands were mere attempts at getting additional frequencies to cover up the company’s inefficient use of its existing assignments.

“(PLDT) has been the most efficient in using radio frequencies assigned to it… Globe is asking the government to punish the most efficient operator and to reward the most inefficient,” PLDT said in a separate statement.

The Senate committee on public services earlier this month ruled that PLDT’s acquisition of Digitel was legal, and that the country’s current regulatory environment ensured that industry competition remained healthy no matter how big individual players got.

But Sen. Joker Arroyo said the Digitel acquisition should not be approved until PLDT complied with foreign ownership restrictions under the Constitution.