Telecoms clearing house not needed

Let us first of all get one thing straight. The telecoms clearing house proposed by businessman Pacifico Marcelo, is not necessary. There is no technical justification for it. Telecoms companies can just as easily interconnect with each other without help from a "clearing house." After Manny Pangilinan took over PLDT, interconnection problems have been largely cleared.

From what I have read and heard about Marcelo's venture, it is like the failed American company Enron in the sense that it seeks to make a market where none is needed, simply by using substantial political clout. And he cannot deny being associated with Erap crony Jaime Dichaves. That was public knowledge in the telecoms industry. Besides, how can an American citizen like him be appointed director of Philcomsat without the connection?

Those facts out of the way, Mr. Marcelo is fantasizing if he thinks his so called clearing house will earn P50 billion a year. If Erap was not thrown out of office and Mr. Marcelo in alliance with Erap crony Jaime Dichaves had their way, they still couldn't have earned P50 billion. The total revenues of the telecoms firms are nowhere near that figure.

Having established that, Sen. Serge Osmeña is right in saying that there really is no value in Mr. Marcelo's firm. That makes it difficult to see why President GMA would want to personally control 51 percent of it, as Mr. Marcelo claims. In fact, it is difficult to see the basis of Mr. Marcelo's valuation of his firm today, as is, without franchise, at $5 million, as he told the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

According to Mr. Marcelo, the value of his firm lies in the name Philippine Communications Clearing House, which is registered in the Internet in his name. Such domain name registration, not copyright as Mr. Marcelo claims, is for one year and costs $75 with an American firm called Network Solutions.

It should be easy enough for President GMA or her business associates to register another firm called Philippine Telecoms Interconnect and compete with Mr. Marcelo, if that is what the President wants to do. To put it nicely, Mr. Marcelo is day dreaming a bit too much.

In fact, another example of wishful thinking on Mr. Marcelo's part is his belief that the President can recall her veto of his franchise bill. Even his own lawyers told him that is not possible. Only an overturn of the veto by 3/4 vote of the entire Congress can save his franchise. Meeting with the President can't help simply because his

franchise bill is now out of the President's hands.

On this particular controversy, I am squarely behind President GMA. I think her reputation is being unfairly sullied by an embittered businessman. If you ask me, we should ask the US government to take Mr. Marcelo back. He should be thrown in the same jail cell as Kenneth Lay of Enron, if ever the Americans gather enough nerve to render justice to the thousands of investors, employees and power consumers victimized by the influential Mr. Lay. The world would be a better place without their types.

Cloak and dagger

On the other hand, I do not understand why President GMA even agreed to meet with Mr. Marcelo, and in a most cloak and dagger manner. One explanation I heard was that the President agreed to see Mr. Marcelo out of utang na loob, because he publicly cleared Mike Arroyo in the earlier P40 million bribery scandal. Given the potential damage to her reputation and knowing that there are no secrets in this town, someone reputed to be as savvy as the President should have known better than to meet with him.

I think GMA's problem is her blind trust of some key advisers. These people take advantage of her and get her into trouble every time they abuse their closeness to her. See what happened to the coco levy issue? Her PR adviser had no business dipping his fingers there and getting the President all dirtied in the process. This is not the first time he did something like that. Some people close to her must have maneuvered her into meeting Marcelo.

One proof that someone close to her is trying to do her in is the final draft of a speech GMA was to deliver before telecoms executives. It had to be edited at the last minute because it effectively supported Marcelo's concept of a telecoms clearing house, except that government will run it. If she delivered that speech, she would have supported Marcelo's claim of her interest. I am sure that as an economist, she knows something like this cannot be justified even as a fund-raising measure for government because it has no technical or economic value to the telecoms companies and the consumers.

It worries me that this concept of a government controlled clearing house was also used by Bobi Tiglao when he tried to explain away Marcelo's allegation that President GMA used the word "we" in the context of controlling such a clearing house. The President must make it clear that technically, a clearing house is not needed and those around her who want to take over from where Marcelo left off, should get this message through their thick skulls.

If President GMA really wants to survive until 2004 and possibly beyond, she should be more discerning of those around her. She must make sure she will not be tainted even by mere suspicion of irregularity. If she doesn't know who are friend, foe and parasite around her, her political survival is at risk. Vicky Garchitorena tried to help her screen these people but even she gave up.

Edong as Tessie O

In the meantime, Sen. Ed Angara should take it easy and try being the constructive oppositionist he initially set out to be. He is beginning to look and sound like the male version of Sen. Tessie Oreta. Could he be taking dance lessons already? If he knows what is good for him, Sen. Ed should just drop Mr. Marcelo now. The poor slob bombed out. Sorry.

As leader of the opposition, Ed should minimize his losses on the Marcelo issue and move on. Look at Sen. Blas Ople. He has taken the mantle of the constructive oppositionist from Sen. Ed. The economic summit that was his brainchild might have released nothing but hot air, but at least, it gave the impression that he is truly concerned about what really matters for the Filipino today. Sen. Blas has accurately read the prevailing sentiment of the nation against excessive politicking.

Maybe Sen. Ed should fiscalize the administration in its handling of agriculture. This is one area where he can stand on solid ground because he was there and he started something the administration seems to have dropped. Sayang naman if Ed Angara degenerates to a fishwife in his old age.

First aid

This one's just in from Dr. Ernie E.

A group of US marines arriving in Afghanistan found themselves taking a surprise refresher course on first aid. Following an involved lesson on making splints, dressing wounds and applying tourniquets to stop bleeding, the instructor decided to determine how well the marine class had grasped the information given.

"Goldberg ," he said, pointing to one of the marines, "say you captured Bin Laden and find he has sustained a minor head wound, what do you do about it?"

"That’s easy, sir," said Goldberg. "I’d wrap a tourniquet around his neck and tighten it until the bleeding stops."

(Boo Chanco's e-mail address is [email protected])