Sear Telecom, PT&T file MR on 3rd Telco decision of NTC
The two bidders disqualified from the third telco bidding this last week – Sear Telecom of politician Chavit Singson and Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (PT&T) – filed on Friday their Motions for Reconsideration (MR) at the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC).
In addition, SEAR is suing the provisional third telco winner, Mislatel, for breach of contract.
The NTC Selection Committee for the New Major Player (NMP) disqualified Sear in last Wednesday's bidding, declaring the consortium's documents "incomplete" because it failed to submit the required million letter of credit (LC).
The committee also disqualified PT&T for failing to submit a certification that it has been in operation on a national scale for the last 10 years
Now, the Sear-LCS Group of Companies-TierOne Consortium, composed of six companies and majority owned by Filipinos, announced had filed an MR to "demonstrate its compliance with the requirements, which it hopes will qualify it to participate in the Opening of the Second Submission Documents."
Sear should have won the NMP bidding, Singson insisted, producing 4 managers checks and an LC to show they can cough up the requirement and saying Mislatel (Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co.) should be disqualified for misleading the public.
Sear plans to sue Mislatel, which telecom regulators declared as the provisional New Major Player, along with its consortium partners, Udenna Corp., Chelsea Holdings, and China Telecom.
"The bigger issue that the public should look at is the fact that Mislatel, the congressional franchise holder tapped by the Udenna Group, is contractually barred from partnering with Udenna or any third party participating in the NMP Selection Process," Sear maintained.
Mislatel has an exclusive contract with another entity, Digiphil, which is linked to the Sear-LCS Group of Companies-TierOne Consortium.
"In view of Mislatel’s inordinate contractual breach, we are constrained to file the necessary case or cases to enforce the terms of the contract and stop it from further participating in the process," according Sear. Mislatel can'l allow its telecom franchise to be used by anyone else without the consent of Digiphil, Sear's Legal Counsel, Raoul Creencia underscored. Digiphil has a right of first refusal, which Mislatel should have invoked and didn't.
If the court rules that Mislatel breached its contract with Digiphil, it is not eligible to partner with Udenna for the NMP. "That's a fatal flaw," the Sear's Legal Counsel stressed
Meanwhile, the second disqualified bidder, PT&T, also filed its MR at the NTC Friday, hoping it will compel the selection committee to review their bid documents further, according to the telco's authorized representative, Benjie Henares.