Palace: PH Telecom’s Third Slot Still Open to Other Investors
- Brian Jules Campued
- Jan 10, 2018
- 2 min read
The government is open in accepting other companies to be the 3rd telco player in the Philippines if China can’t work with the business ownership laws in the 1987 Constitution, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said, January 3.
“There are no indications that China Telecom does not want to push through with the project,” Roque stated, clarifying that Chinese Telecom has not so far not refused to the offer.
The country’s telecommunications industry remains open to all interested parties although President Duterte has said he wants to give the third spot to China Telecom.
Meanwhile, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a radio interview that it is not limited to China and is open to all telco investors around the world.
“Whoever can give the best offer, the most viable offer, the juiciest offer will be the third player in the telecommunications industry in the Philippines,” he told to radio station dzBB.
He added that the government is fast-tracking this because the people are irritated with the slow internet and dropped calls.
Roque announced during a Malacañang press briefing last December that the president wants China Telecom to operate in the Philippines by the first quarter of 2018.
However, officials have clarified that the telco company has to abide by the country’s Public Service Law which allows companies to operate as a public utility if Filipinos owned at least 60 percent of the shares, with 40 percent limited to foreign ownership.
The Duterte administration wants China to enter the Philippine telecommunications market to to “strengthen our bilateral ties with China” and break the long-standing duopoly of PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom.
“What is important really is that we have a very good telecom industry, a very competitive industry that can give good service to the people,” Andanar added.