Court denies Now Telecom’s plea vs. 3rd telco terms of reference

The Manila Regional Trail Court Branch 42 denied on Friday Now Telecom’s plea to remove certain provisions in the government’s terms of reference for the third telco player.

The court found that “there is practically nothing to enjoin that will warrant the grant of a temporary restraining order,” according to the decision forwarded by the National Telecommunications Commission to media organizations.

The court decision’s significance that selection process and naming of the third telco player will not be delayed, the Department of Information and Communications Technology said in a separate statement.

There is a lack of urgency concerning a TRO as the bidding process for the selection of new major player is scheduled on Nov. 7, 2018, the court noted.

The decision was handed down by Judge Dinnah Aguila-Topacio on Friday, October 12, four days after Now Telecom filed a case against the NTC for supposedly inserting certain provisions in the terms of reference without the benefit of public consultations. 

The court set a hearing on October 23 and 24, 2018.

Now Telecom is seeking a preliminary injunction against certain provisions in the final terms of reference, namely the P700-million “Participation Security,” the P14 to P24-billion “Performance Security,” and the P10-million non-refundable “Appeal Fee.”

In a separate statement, Now Telecom said it remains firm in questioning the insertion of new requirements in the terms of reference that “we believe are a violation of the law and serve as barriers to entry in the bidding process.”

“We will argue the merits of our position when we appear before the court during our hearing scheduled on October 23 and 24 for our request for a preliminary prohibitory injunction on the NMP selection process,” it said.

Parent firm Now Corp. announced earlier on Friday it will be bidding for  the third slot as member of a consortium. 

Now Telecom emphasized that it is committed to make a bid for the right to be the third telco “with or without the TRO.”

“We believe in our resolve and capacity to provide true and better telco service to the Filipino people,” it said.

Department of Information and Communications Technology Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said the timeline for the selection of third telco player will go ahead as planned.

“We will push through as scheduled,” Rio said in a statement.

Now Telecom said it does not want to delay the selection of the new major player.

“What we want is for the bids to be presented on November 7 to President Duterte himself, because we believe that he has the political will to remove all provisions in the TOR that are onerous, confiscatory and potentially extortionary, and that he has the moral ascendancy to choose the most deserving candidate,” it said.

Based on the DICT’s timeline, the final memorandum circular—published on September 21—took effect on October 6.

On October 8, Monday, prospective bidders bought bidding documents at the NTC headquarters in Quezon City. The documents are available until November 7.

Interested investors who bought the documents have until October 22 to seek any clarification and the government has until November 22 to answer the queries.

The DICT is targeting to name the winning bidder sometime in December.

The government is using the highest committed level of service in selecting the third telco player based on three major criteria: national coverage, internet speed, and capital expenditures.

Seven firms have so far bought the bid documents, with China Telecom as the latest addition. —VDS, GMA News