THE JUSTICE department, weighing in on a services dispute, said all authorized telcos can offer services within the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, Metro Manila.
The area, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales said in a legal opinion dated April 18, is a "free zone" notwithstanding any exclusive contracts its developers have with Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).
The Public Telecommunications Act and consequent circulars, said Mr. Gonzales, allow the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to "enforce and validly maintain that Global City is a ’free zone’ within which all enfranchised public telecommunications entity so authorized ... can provide high-speed networks and communications connectivity."
The NTC had sought Justice department clarification after Ayala-led Globe Telecom, Inc. and subsidiary Innove Communications, Inc. said they wanted to install infrastructure to provide services within the Global City. Both firms were said to have held their plans in abeyance because of a standing contract the developers have with PLDT.
A 1998 memorandum of agreement between Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. (FBDC) and Bonifacio Communications Corp. gave the latter "the exclusive right to install, construct, own and maintain" needed infrastructure in the area. Bonifacio Communications was incorporated through the efforts of the FBDC, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), and PLDT subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc.
In 2002, PLDT bought FBDC’s stake following an agreement that the former would be the "sole provider" of telecommunications services in the area. Bonifacio Communications is now 75%-owned by PLDT and 25%-owned by the BCDA.
The NTC, however, said contracts cannot in any way contravene the Public Telecommunications Act, which prescribes that a single entity should not monopolize a single area.
Mr. Gonzales agreed, but noted that his opinion was not binding since the issue could be subject to litigation. The law, however, is anchored on the Philippine Constitution itself, he noted.
"[The charter] provides that the operation of a public utility shall not be exclusive ... A private agreement of arrangement cannot violate this constitutional mandate," he stressed.
In numerous decisions, the Supreme Court repeatedly struck down monopolies, he added.
Globe spokesman Jones T. Campos said Mr. Gonzales’ legal opinion merely confirmed what the law prescribes.
"For so long as other providers can service the area, there is no controversy there," he said.
Globe is planning to put up its own corporate office in the area by 2010.
PLDT spokesman Ramon R. Isberto declined to comment, saying Mr. Gonzales’ position needed to be reviewed by the firm’s legal department.
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