‘No way, Gokongwei?’

PLDT, by a long mile the dominant carrier, a virtual monopoly, accounted for approximately 94 percent of the telephone network of the Philippines with the remaining six percent held by what I used to fondly call the "Little Paptelcos" (Paptelco stands for the Philippine Association of Private Telephone Companies), whose membership though composed of little "Mom and Pop" telephone operators using outdated equipment, heroically provided the only means of telecom access in some of the rural areas of the country. As the Undersecretary for Communications, I chaired the rigorous meetings that finally led to that historical document – D.O. 87-188. That order became the basis for opening up the sector to other industry players, the aim being to provide a competitive environment that would bring down the dominance of PLDT, allow the entry of wireless telephony and the new technologies, not at PLDT’s own sweet time, but through new enfranchised carriers and the few players then. These players would hopefully be able to entice foreign partners respecting the 60-40 constitutional limitation, accelerate telecom development, increase as soon as possible the horrible teledensity of our country, and, which is so important, cover the rural areas, at the same time make certain that reforms were undertaken to rationalize a very critical and complex sector. This was, of course, to be implemented in synchronized collaboration with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the regulatory body for telecom and broadcast in the Philippines. What an outstanding future for telecom, if we could only swing it, without the influence of politics, without the scourge of corruption, with just the public interest and public service as guideposts.

I remember when the first "other international gateway" authorization was issued by then NTC chairman Linggoy Alcuaz in early 1989. When he resigned soon thereafter and I was appointed acting chairman, in a concurrent capacity with being Undersecretary for Communications, the NTC order containing the authorization given to Eastern Telecom Philippines, Inc. (ETPI) had not as yet been formally promulgated. It became my responsibility and that of my two deputy commissioners, Farley Ampil and Al Santos, who remain my good friends to this day, having exciting memories to share with them, pressure-laden though our responsibilities were, for I had upon assumption made the NTC a collegial body, though this was not mandated by law.

In the same manner that Judge Green chopped up AT&T, the great, big "Ma Bell," into the seven "baby bells" and deregulation began to set in, in the US, the three of us, Farley, Al and myself, were being referred to as the Philippine counterparts of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the US at the time when the bell sounded for the axe to fall on AT&T. But there was one basic difference – there was hardly anything to chop, certainly not even a million lines. I still keep as a memento, the telephone apparatus encased in sturdy glass which symbolized finally the completion of one million lines, presented to me soon thereafter by PLDT’s senior executive vice president, a dear friend of many years, Atty. Enrique "Spanky" Perez, one person I used to refer to as my "spiritual adviser." I would like to think that the demonopolization effort and the birth of other operators triggered what became the no-nonsense expansion programs of PLDT all over the country.

We had discussed with some members of Congress then the need to enact Philippine anti-trust legislation. A former senator even told me that a draft had been readied in his office. We still do not have one although you find random provisions in various pieces of legislation, one basic bill is needed underscoring the necessary components. A former high-ranking finance official in President Clinton’s anti-trust division, in a speech delivered several years ago, referred to the anti-trust laws as "open-ended commands." In the Philippines, not only must the basic anti-trust law spell out specific situations, but this has to be done in clear categorical language, not leaving much room for political interpretation in the same manner that R.A. 7925, now the basic law on telecom, passed by Congress on the 20th of February, 1995, elevated the provisions on mandated competition and interconnection in D.O. 87-188 and gave them the force of law.

Which brings us back to today where every business section of every paper shouts out headlines of the Gokongwei pact with First Pacific to form a joint venture that will hold the Hong Kong firm’s 24.77 percent stake in its Philippine arm, the Metro Pacific Corporation in the Bonifacio Land Corporation. John Gokongwei, already a legend as the self-made billionaire, I first met when he accompanied his son Lance to the stage at a Xavier School graduation, to receive the medals and awards Lance received. He and his wife have reared such great children – Lance, Robina and Lisa I personally know. And John, not too many know, can be tremendously charismatic.

I certainly don’t care which protagonist wins or whether the two gentlemen who made it a point to go to Hong Kong and go through the seduction ritual with NTT succeed in thwarting Big John providing truth to the slogan I invented for them, "No way, Gokongwei." But I do care about the danger of a reversal process even before our demonopolization story has been completed. I do care very strongly about a situation where the dominant carrier of 15 years ago emerges as the monster of today, whether it is under new management, whether new protective measures are imposed by an overwhelmed and therefore energized and imaginative regulatory body.

The government has undertaken painstakingly the demonopolization of the telecommunications sector, which the world telecommunity is still undertaking right now. In spite of its imperfections and frailties and the fact that under the Service Areas Scheme (SAS), a concept I have always objected to, the country was divided into 11 service areas which saw many rural areas still unaddressed; and in spite of an over-supply in the profitable urban areas, the fact is our national teledensity at year end 2001 approximated 15. Wireless telephony has become a very important modus vivendi in the rural areas with two players competing for the subscribers’ affections through a great number of novel incentives and offers, providing much needed access the inhabitants have been hungry for. A corporate situation in any guise or disguise where the ugly hand of the monopolist prevails, will certainly lead to a violation of the law and a transgression of what we must always uphold – the public interest.