IF the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) were to make an assessment, internet speeds in the country have not improved, even with the joint acquisition of San Miguel Corp.’s (SMC) telco assets by PLDT and Globe, which the Court of Appeals recently pronounced legal.
“We note that a year after the sale, the public continues to complain of slow, expensive and poor quality of internet and mobile services. If anything, this has further fueled our determination to safeguard the market and promote the interests of consumers,” said PCC in a statement issued yesterday afternoon.
The statement came in response to CA’s decision dated Oct. 18 that affirmed the legality of the P69.1-billion acquisition deal of the 700-megahertz band of Vega Telecom Inc., an SMC subsidiary.
In its decision, the court said the National Telecommunications Commission had already approved PLDT and Globe’s co-use of the San Miguel frequency and that the PCC had no authority to review or modify frequency allocations.
“With the subject notice being compliant with the requirements of MC (Memorandum Circular)16-002 and there being no false material statement therein, the subject acquisition is deemed approve by operation of law and may no longer be challenged under the PCA (Philippine Competition Act),” the decision stated.
Considered approved
The court said PCC should “recognize the subject acquisition as approved by operation of law” and “cease and desist from conducting further proceedings for the pre-acquisition review and/or investigation of the subject acquisition.”
As of yesterday, the PCC said it is had not yet received a copy of CA’s decision.
“PCC has yet to receive the official copy of the decision from the Court of Appeals. Rest assured, however, that we will take the appropriate legal steps to move this multi-billion acquisition case forward. We are firm in our resolve to perform our mandate under the law,” the anti-trust body said.
At the spike of the controversy, with the joint acquisition completed in May 2017, Globe and PLDT argued that the transaction was “deemed approved” when it notified PCC of the deal.
However, the PCC said that this could not be, given that the companies did not include material information and that a review was necessary to protect consumers and promote market competition.
PCC is a national government agency mandated to review mergers and acquisitions for possible negative impact on fair competition in the market. It was formed in January 2016 to implement the Philippine Competition Act.