Baiting the AFP

The business community appears to have been taken aback by the statement of some Catholic bishops calling for the “formation of a new government”.

No, it is not the strong political flavor of the statement that alarmed the business community – they are already used to religious leaders treading on political grounds. What alarmed them was the statement of these bishops that they do not want the usual constitutionally-mandated succession, which means they do not like the Vice President, nor the Senate President and much less the Speaker of the House to lead their “new government”.

Instead, they said they want the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces to lead the “new government”.

Our business leaders respect church leaders highly, but they are constrained to ask whether or not that statement was actually an invitation to do a coup d’etat.

If it is, aren’t these bishops being unfair to the AFP and to the entire nation?

We can understand where these bishops are coming from. The current AFP Chief of Staff, General Alexander Yano, has emerged as one of the most highly-respected soldiers ever to occupy the highest post in the military sector. President Arroyo named him to that top post purely on the basis of merit; the AFP chief hardly has any viable political ties that could have won him the plum position.

More, General Yano has been dubbed “the soldier’s soldier”, a tribute to his fine leadership by example. The Catholic bishops may have a point there: a non-controversial highly-esteemed military leader could indeed serve their purpose of creating a “new government”.

But the bishops may have misread the AFP chief.

Immediately, these advocates of a “new government” received a respectful, indirect but stinging rebuff from the AFP chief who said he would not touch the bait with a ten-foot pole, noting that the bishops’ enticement “directly violates the constitution which the AFP is vowed to serve, protect and defend”.

Before these bishops train the angry, blazing guns on the AFP chief, they should also understand where he is coming from. Everyone knows General Yano has no stomach for the games politicians play. The man ascended to the top AFP post without the backing of political power brokers and the view is that he intends to keep things that way.

General Yano’s simple and highly-austere personal lifestyle also disqualifies him from the lure of “material incentives” that coup plotters are highly susceptible to.

The suggestion is for the bishops to look for someone else who is hungry for political power. The soft-spoken self-effacing AFP chief does not meet the requirement. The belief is that he will simply remain the President’s best asset in the war against secessionist and insurgent armed groups.

The spirit of military adventurism has long been dormant in the AFP. The business community hopes the bishops do not trigger its resurrection. The business community would much prefer that the AFP remains focused on its core mission which makes for a stable environment supportive of the growth of economic activities.

We all need this kind of growth now.

Breaking its silence

Prior to the liberalization of the local telecommunications industry, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) was a virtual monopoly.

But now, PLDT, under the helm of Manny Pangilinan, is proud to say that it has grown leaps and bounds inspite of the intense competition under which it operates.

So when Globe Telecom and its subsidiary Innove Communications accused PLDT of violating the laws against monopolies and combinations when the latter tried to prevent Innove from operating inside the Bonifacio Global City, PLDT cried foul.

PLDT called Globe a “hypocrite” for denouncing the exclusivity contracts which PLDT has entered into with the Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. and Bonifacio Communications Corp. inside the Global City.

BCC chairman Eric Alberto, who is also PLDT’s senior vice president for customer sales and marketing, said PLDT in fact is not allowed also to offer its telecommunications services inside Ayala malls as well as residential or commercial areas being developed by the Ayala Land, Globe’s sister company.

According to Alberto, instead of complaining, PLDT respected Globe’s decision since this is a private contract. PLDT, he added, won’t force Globe to allow the phone giant to service the Ayala malls nor would it unilaterally cut any of Globe’s infrastructures, replace it with their own, and run PLDT’s fiber into the Ayala malls.

Since PLDT won’t give up its exclusive rights to install, operate, own and maintain telecommunications infrastructure in the BGC, the only solution is for Globe to enter an interconnection agreement with PLDT, he added.

Exclusivity arrangements, Alberto stressed, is a common business practice as a way by which an investor can recoup his investment.

The NTC has recently ordered PLDT, BCC, and FBDC to in effect allow Innove to provide teleco services inside BGC, in line with its 2002 memorandum circular which declared certain IT hubs, including BGC, as free zones.

PLDT has filed a case before the QC Regional Trial Court Court to declare the said NTC circular as null and void.

It will be recalled that FBDC prior to the issuance of the NTC circular entered into an agreement with BCC giving the latter exclusive right to operate inside the Bonifacio Global City. Later, BCC and PLDT inked another contract giving PLDT the same exclusive right.

PLDT however is facing problems enforcing its exclusivity contract inside the Global City. Ayala Land and Evergreen Holdings are now the controlling shareholders of FBDC after they acquired the Metro Pacific Group’s shares in BCC. FBDC is said to be siding now with Innove.

BCC has thus filed a separate case against Innove and FBDC before the Pasig RTC. PLDT and BCC claimed they have the exclusive right to own, maintain and operate all telecommunications infrastructure in the BGC under an agreement they signed with FBDC. The latter is being sued by FBDC for breach of contract.

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