Transcript of Sen. Grace Poe's Opening Statement
Third Hearing on Third Telco

Magandang umaga po sa ating lahat. The hearing of the Senate committee on public services is hereby resumed. Today's hearing will first center on the committee's unfinished discussion on the third telco player, in consideration of Senate Resolution No. 933 filed by Senators Pangilinan and De Lima and Senate Resolution 603 filed by Senator De Lima.

During our second hearing last Nov. 27, 2018 it was revealed by the Department of Information Communications and Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) that the Mislatel Consortium, the "winning bidder" or the "new major player" in the telco industry, has 90 days within which it should comply with the requirements before the actual award of the frequencies and the grant of its license to operate. The end of the 90-day compliance period, according to DICT and NTC, will be on the first week of February this year.

At today's hearing, we will be asking for the following updates in relation to the 90-day compliance period:

a. The cybersecurity audit of the Mislatel Consortium. Sino ang gumagawa ng audit na ito? Ano ang partisipasyon ng pamahalaan? Ano ang mga potential areas of concerns or risks? Kumusta ang compliance ng Mislatel dito sa ating "National Cybersecurity Plan 2022" na nabanggit ni Secretary Rio noong nakaraang pagdinig?

b. How is the ongoing background check of the National Intelligence and Coordinating Agency (NICA) on the Mislatel Corporation particularly China Telecom? Please note that there are sectors questioning the integrity of the selection because of national security. Please update us on this matter that the public should be informed.

c. The detailed and itemized rollout plan of Mislatel. Nangako ang Mislatel na sila ay gagasta ng P150 billion sa unang taon upang magkaroon ng 37 percent coverage sa buong bansa at mayroon ng kakayanang makapagbigay ng 55 mbps na internet speed. So bibilis daw ang internet at mas malawak ang magiging serbisyo. Ano ang kanilang mga deliverables at timeline para rito? Mahalaga ito sapagkat noong nakaraang pagdinig ay napag-alaman natin na ang Globe at Smart ay nakaabot lamang sa 70-percent coverage sa buong bansa pero pagkatapos ng 20 taon. The people want fast broadband, mabilis na Internet. But what can be delivered at the soonest possible time? Kailan talaga bibilis ang Wi-Fi sa Pilipinas lalung-lalo na may mga mungkahi na dapat makapagtrabaho ang ating mga kababayan sa kani-kanilang mga bahay kung papayagan ng kanilang mga employers.

d. The capital infusion or the infusion of P10 billion into Mislatel. Accordingly, during the last hearing, it is be broken down as follows: 35 percent from Udenna, 25 percent from Chelsea Holdings and 40 percent from China Telecom. Nais nating malaman kung kanino talaga manggagaling ang capital infusion at kung papaano masisiguro na ang ating gobyerno na ang may totoong control ay mananatili sa mga Pilipino at hindi sa banyaga. Tatanungin din natin ang Securities and Exchange Commission o SEC kung kamusta na ang mga papeles ng Mislatel na siyang magiging "surviving entity/corporation" na siyang aktwal na tatanggap ng award ng frequencies at license to operate mula sa NTC.

e. Kamusta ang P24 billion na performance bond ng Mislatel?

Ngayong araw, umaasa rin po tayo sa presensya ni Ginoong Dennis Uy ng Davao na siyang may-ari ng Udenna at Chelsea Holdings na kasama ng Mislatel. Tulad po ng isang mapagmatyag na mamamayan, sigurado akong marami po sa atin ang nais siyang makilala lalung-lalo na siya ang magmamayari ng pangatlong telco, pinakamalaki sa ating bansa. Noong nakaraang pagdinig natin, si Sen. Antonio Trillanes III ay nag-motion na imbitahin si Mr. Uy ng Pampanga at Davao, so ngayon titingnan natin kung nandito si Mr. Uy ng Pampanga. Pero nandito si Mr. Uy ng Davao.

Moving on, just recently, after our second hearing, the issue on the common towers policy had been put into light as there seems to be a misunderstanding between the DICT and the Presidential Adviser on Economic Affairs and Information Technology Communications. Kung atin pong matatandaan, sabi po ni Secretary Rio noong nakaraang taon ay mayroon na dapat tayong Common Tower Policy o Guidelines noong December 2017. Ano po ba ang nangyayari? Importante po itong usapin ng common towers dahil nabanggit po ni Secretary Rio noong nakaraang pagdinig na nangangailangan pa tayo ng humigit kumulang 50,000 pang cellular towers sa ating bansa.

Lastly, through this committee would mainly delve into the rollout plan of Mislatel, just to be clear, we are not, in any way, sweeping under the rug all the complaints, arguments and observations of the other bidders regarding alleged irregularities and abuse of discretion in the selection process of the third telco player. The committee received a substantial number of communications, letters and information in this regard and along this line, the committee would like to shed light on recurring news reports and information claiming that the following personalities, allegedly, had substantial involvement in the selection process, - sino ba itong sina Ella Blanca Lopez, Teodoro Buenavista Jr., Alvin Bernard Blanco, Samuel Sabile, Andres Castelar Jr. at Cheng Yong? Mayroon bang isa sa kanila o nandito ba sila, lahat ng nabanggit ko, itaas ang kamay, maraming salamat po.

We invited them in today's hearing and basically, please apprise us of your respective roles in the selection process? Kindly tell us, your agencies either in the public or private sector.

Ang isa pang interesanteng tanong na lumabas kamakailan ay kung ano itong procurement ng CCTV cameras na manggagaling diumano sa China Telecom na siya din ang kaparte ng Mislatel Consortium? Mayroon ba itong kinalaman o makaaapekto ba ito sa rollout plan ng Mislatel Consortium?

To reiterate, this committee will not hesitate to use the full extent of its oversight powers in pursuit of the truth. To uncover the truth and secure the nation are our committee's objectives. The nation deserves no less.

The second part of today's public services committee hearing will be on the 10 legislative franchise applications and eight bills creating LTO offices:

RT Broadcast Specialist Philippines, Inc.; Ultimate Entertainment, Inc.; TV5 Network, Inc.; Vimcontu Broadcasting Corporation; Swara Sug Media Corporation; Cadiz Radio and Television Network; Bases Conversion and Development Authority; Solar Para sa Bayan Corporation; Magnum Air or Skyjet; And Audiovisual Communicators Inc.

The approved House Bills for the establishment of LTO offices (whether regular, district and licensing offices) in various localities are those for Morong, Rizal; City of Parañaque; Tanauan City, Batangas; in Guimba, Nueva Ecija; San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan; Infanta, Quezon; Lucena City in Quezon; and Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro.

Napaka-importante po nitong mga LTO offices sapagkat dumadami po ang ating populasyon, kailangan po ng serbisyo, napakahaba po ng pila kaya ito po'y wala namang problema. sa tingin ko ito'y maapruba kaagad-agad sapagkat ito po ay serbisyo.