Court denies SubicTel motion

The Regional Trial Court of Olongapo City has denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Subic Telecommunications Co. (SubicTel) to restrain Globe Telecom wireline subsidiary Innove Communications from providing domestic and international telecommunications services in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

In a one-page order, RTC Judge Ramon Caguioa noted that the arguments raised by SubicTel were "mere rehash of previous contentions and discussions that have already been passed upon and evaluated" by the court.

The RTC added that no material and substantial matter was invoked by SubicTel that would warrant a reconsideration, thus, the decision to deny the motion for lack of merit.

Moreover, the court noted that the SubicTel has violated the principle of litis pendentia. Litis pendentia refers to a situation wherein another action is pending between the same parties for the same cause of action, such as the second action becomes unnecessary.

SubicTel, a subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), asked the RTC last May to issue a restraining order against the implementation of the provisional authority (PA) issued in favor of Innove, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom which provides landline voice and data services.