HEARING rumors that the third telco initiative was rigged and marred with corruption, the chief of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) clarified that the selection process was aboveboard and beyond reproach.
Acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. of the information department belied allegations it favored Mislatel Consortium for it to win the third telco license during the bidding process that culminated this month.
Rio, in a lengthy, three-part social-media post that he also sent to the media, said the government did not shower any form of favor for Mislatel, which is led by President Duterte’s campaign backer and close ally Dennis A. Uy, to clinch the title as the new major telco player.
“We simply looked at documents, not the personalities. It was an exercise on objectivity. The bidding was done in the most transparent and open manner. Despite this, the losers still impute that the process was rigged to favor Mislatel,” he said.
Mislatel—composed of Mindanao Islamic Telephone Corp., Udenna Corp., Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. and China Telecom Corp. Ltd.—was named the new major player, a week after it emerged as the only compliant bidder during the auction held on November 7.
It promised to cover 84-percent of the Philippine barangays with a minimum Internet speed of 55 Mbps through a five-year P257-billion capital and operation expenditures program.