Gov’t to look for qualified telco if Mislatel defaults

The government might look for another potential third telecommunication player in case winning bidder Mislatel consortium defaults, Malacañang said Thursday.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the government prefers to tap a telco company that will meet state requirements, including a valid franchise.

Panelo issued the statement after Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon claimed Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co. (Mislatel) could not be eligible to become the country’s third telco player since its franchise was deemed revoked.

Drilon had earlier argued that Mislatel failed to meet the

law's requirement to operate within a year from the grant of franchise in 1998.

“Kung walang franchise [If they don’t have a franchise] how can they operate?” Panelo said during a Palace press briefing.

“We will look for another company that has a franchise. Di ba marami naman nag-bid (Isn’t it several joined the bidding)? So I suppose we can always go, or these losing bidders can come in in the event of the default of the winning bidder,” he added.

He recognized that the franchise is considered revoked if the holder does not operate within a certain period. “If there is a provision that says that within so much time that you haven’t (operated), then it (franchise) is considered revoked,” he said.

In case Mislatel's franchise was considered revoked, he said the government would consider qualified telco companies regardless of the owner. “It does not matter who owns it basta (as long as it’s) qualified,” he said.

For now, however, Panelo said Mislatel has refuted the claims questioning the validity of its franchise.

“From what I gathered from the lawyer of Dennis Uy, it’s not true. They disputed that, they have documents to show that,” he added.

The government recently declared Mislatel as the country's third major telco service provider following a selection process. The chosen consortium, that includes China Telecommunications Corp., Dennis Uy's Udenna Corp., and Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp, beat two other rivals during the bidding process.