SOLOMONIC NOT SOMORONIC SOLUTION

By Philip M. Lustre jr.

CONGRESSIONAL leaders knew it was patently wrong. Rodrigo Duterte could not expropriate the assets of the two major telcos – PLDT Group and Globe Telecom – and give them to the favored third telecom – Dito Telecommunity.

While the cash register kept on ringing in their ears over the possibility of bigger takes from the two telcos, the more cerebral congressional leaders have understood it would be untenable, or even suicidal, for Congress to legislate the demise of two telcos to favor an upstart, which has yet to establish a track record in the local market.

In brief, Congress could not enact an expropriation law to take away the assets of the two telcos and give them to Dito Tel. A robust and competitive telecommunications industry does not operate on the basis of presidential rants that when the two telcos could not provide what Duterte perceives as sufficient service, he could take away their assets and give them to another telecommunications player.

To enable Duterte to escape from the sticky and embarrassing situation, congressional leaders have added a provision in the proposed Bayanihan To Heal as One Act – Part 2, suspending for three years the submission of most permits needed to build new cell towers nationwide to improve telecommunications services. According to Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon between 29 to 35 permit and documentary requirements have to be issued by local government units (LGUs) before a telco could get a permit to build a cell tower.

The relaxation of the regulatory environment under the Bayanihan Act -2 opens the burgeoning cell tower construction business to open competition, enabling private non-telco firms to join and build cell towers for rent to telcos. It gives the third telco the chance to catch with the rollout of its infrastructures to start its commercial operations in March 2021 and slug it out in the open telecommunications market. It does away the planned expropriation law, which has become irrelevant.

Lawmakers have said Congress would ratify on Monday (Aug. 24) the proposed Bayanihan Act -2, putting in place the second law to enable the Duterte administration to respond adequately to the pandemic caused by the China-Duterte Virus. It provides a total budget of P140 billion to include doleout to poor families, mass testing and contact tracing, and doleout to affected tourism-related businesses, among others.

In his July 26 SONA, Duterte has threatened the two telcos of expropriation mainly because of “poor service” and indicated he would give their assets to his Chinese friends, who are having a hard time putting up Dito Tel.

Camouflaging his intention of their expropriation by saying “the people wanted improvement of the services” of the two telecommunications giants, Duterte appeared bent to deliver the coup de grace in 2021 by strongly hinting to Congress that it would play a role in the enactment of a major legislation that could lead to their expropriation.

Expropriation is the act of a government to claim privately owned property against the wishes of the owners, ostensibly to be used for the benefit of the general public.

Dito Tel is behind schedule on the rollout of its infrastructure. It is near to impossible to meet its obligations, commitments, and requirements in its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), which serves as the contract between the government and the telco.

Addressing a Senate public hearing on July 1, Adel Tamano, chief administrative officer, said Dito Tel was having a hard time fulfilling its CPCN. Tamano cited the adverse effects of the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus for Dito Tem’s inability to meet its commitments in the CPCN. He blamed the delay to movement restrictions caused by strict lockdown measures from mid-March until the end of May 2020.

“The COVID-19 and lockdowns prevented us from our full rollout. With the subsequent easing of different lockdown situations, we are doing our best to get back on track,” Tamano said. Also, the pandemic has affected China, which is Dito Tel’s main source of technological knowhow and raw materials, including the rolling stocks for its construction and infrastructure works.

Under its CPCN, Dito Tel’s “technical launch” was scheduled on July 7 this year, but it has to be postponed in November this year. No date has been fixed. Its CPCN requires Dito Tel to build initially at least 1,300 cell towers nationwide and provide digital service at a speed of 27 Mbp. According to Tamano, Dito Telecom has built 300 cell towers, or a backlog of 1,000 cell sites.

Concerning the legal basis of the envisioned expropriation of Globe and PLDT assets , the 1987 Constitution allows expropriation of private landholdings and ill-gotten assets, but is quiet on private assets to be given to another private entity, specifically a favored one.

The Constitution allows expropriation proceedings on landholdings for public use under its power of eminent domain. In fact, RA 10729, or the Right of Way Act, has been enacted during the incumbency of Benigno Aquino III mainly to hasten construction of road projects and other infrastructures.

Expropriation proceedings for PLDT and Globe Telecom assets could not be invoked because they have been rightfully acquired and do not in any way constitute ill-gotten wealth. Acquiring their assets mainly because they have failed to provide “adequate services” is a weak argument and does not rest on solid legal, albeit moral, grounds.

IS THERE A BASIS TO GIVE PLDT, GLOBE ASSETS TO 3RD TELCO?

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

IT was not an attempt of a shakedown to milk the two telecommunications conglomerates – Globe Telecom and PLDT Group - of their resources. In his State of the Nation Address on Monday afternoon, Rodrigo Duterte said he wanted the expropriation early next year of their assets ostensibly to be given to his Chinese friends, who are having a hard time to putting up Dito Telecommunity, the third telco to compete against the two giant telcos.

Camouflaging his intention of their expropriation by saying “the people wanted improvement of the services” of the two telecommunications giants, Duterte appeared bent to deliver the coup de grace in 2021 by strongly hinting to Congress that it would play a role in the enactment of a major legislation that could lead to their expropriation.

Two questions: What is current situation of the third telco to warrant the expropriation of Globe and PLDT assets? Is there a basis – legal or otherwise - to give PLDT, Globe assets to the incoming third telco - Dito Telecommunity?

Expropriation is defined as the act of a government to claim privately owned property against the wishes of the owners, ostensibly to be used for the benefit of the general public.

On the first question, Dito Telecom is currently behind schedule on the rollout of its infrastructure. It is near to impossible to meet its obligations, commitments, and requirements specified in its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), which serves as the contract between the government and the telecom firm.

Addressing a Senate public hearing on July 1, Adel Tamano, chief administrative officer, said Dito Telecom was having a hard time fulfilling the terms and conditions specified in its CPCN. Tamano cited the adverse effects of the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus for Dito Telecom’s inability to meet its commitments in the CPCN. He blamed the delay to movement restrictions caused by strict lockdown measures from mid-March until the end of May 2020.

“The COVID-19 and lockdowns prevented us from our full rollout. With the subsequent easing of different lockdown situations, we are doing our best to get back on track,” Tamano said. Also, the pandemic has affected China, which is Dito Telecom’s main source of technological knowhow and raw materials, including the rolling stocks for its construction and infrastructure works.

Under its CPCN, Dito Telecom’s “technical launch” was scheduled on July 7 this year, but it has to be postponed in November this year. No date has been fixed.

The CPCN requires Dito Telecom to build initially at least 1,300 cell towers nationwide and provide digital service at a speed of 27 Mbp. According to Tamano, Dito Telecom has built 300 cell towers, or a backlog of 1,000 cell sites.

Tamano has promised to speed up the construction of the backlog, but he did not give any assurance of its compliance by November. The original plan was to build at least 1,600 cell towers by July, but this was lowered to 1,300. Overall, Dito Telecom has planned to build 2,000 cell towers by end-2020.

If Dito could build the promised cell sites and provide telecommunications services to at least a third of the country, it is scheduled to provide partial commercial operations by March next year and full commercial operations by July 1, 2021, or the first year of its operations.

According to its terms of reference of its CPCN, Dito Telecom has promised to provide by the end of its fifth year of its commercial operations, telecommunications coverage to 84 percent of the country’s population at a minimum average speed of at least 55 mbps.

Then DICT Undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said Dito Telecom might not invoke force majeure, or protection due to unforeseen events like the COVID-19 pandemic, should it miss its rollout targets. Press reports said the bidding terms of reference allow a grace period in case of a delay in rollout. Section 14 of the terms of reference allows the telecom firm two grace periods of six months each within the five-year commitment period.

The government would not grant special extensions to its rollout commitments despite the COVID-19 crisis that keeps on disrupting the global supply chain. Rio said. Dito Telecom could not seek reprieve by invoking force majeure, or protection due to unforeseen events such as the pandemic, because this was not included in the terms of reference.

Dito Telecom, backed by China Telecom and the group of Davao City-based businessman Dennis A. Uy, is to hold its twice postponed technical launch by November. Its failure to meet its commitments would allow the national government to seize its P25.7-billion performance bond and recall assigned radio frequencies. The terms of reference, however, allow a grace period in case of a delay in its rollout, but not in the schedule to go into commercial operations.

It’s dubious if Dito Telecom was “on track” to meet its commitments amid disruptions caused by the pandemic and the three-month Luzon lockdown. It was reported to have started searching for “alternative sources” of technology and raw materials to start their operations after its deliveries from China got stuck. The firm did not explain any details for alternative sources of technology.

It appears acquisition of existing telecommunications infrastructures and other assets is the most plausible option. The acquisition of Globe and PLDT assets would enable Dito Telecom to meet its obligations under its CPCN.

This is not the only issue that confronts Dito Telecom. Policy issues in the United States could strike Dito Telecom, adversely affecting its planned commercial operations next year. Dito Telecom would have a hard time operating in the country once the China Telecom is banned in the US since there will be a problem in the interconnection in cyberspace.

Several US Departments had encouraged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke China Telecom (Americas) Corp’s authorization to provide international telecommunications services to and from the US. “This recommendation reflects the substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks associated with China Telecom’s continued access to US telecommunications infrastructure,” said the group of departments, which include State, Justice, Defense, Homeland Security, and Commerce, in a statement, along with the United States Trade Representative, in a statement regarding the filling at the FCC recently.

The call is in the midst of the continuous scrutiny being done by FCC to China Telecom in an investigation that was started last year. The US subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned telecommunications company holds the license to grant service in the US since 2007. The FCC united to vote in May last year to deny the request of another state-owned Chinese telecommunications company, the Mother mobile, to grant service in the US.

According to FCC chairman Ajit Pai, the commission was able to determine following the vote that China Mobile was controlled by the Chinese government. It was mentioned in a statement that there could be danger in the possibility of the Chinese government using the approval of the FCC to conduct espionage or spying against the US government.

The telecommunications companies of China are thoroughly being scrutinized by the US. Just last year, lawmakers urged FCC to review China Telecom and the other Chinese telecommunication company, the China Unicom. Also last year, the Trump administration placed Huawei Technologies – the Chinese telecoms company that is the global leader in next-generation 5G technology, on an “entity list” and barred it from buying critical components from its American suppliers.

The US has also urged other governments around the world to exclude Huawei from developing their 5G infrastructure, citing national security risks. In a recent filing, the departments contended that the Chinese government has “ultimate ownership and control” of China Telecom and the company’s US operations.

Such ownership might allow Chinese government entities “to engage in malicious cyber activity enabling economic espionage and disruption and misrouting of US communications” and “provide opportunities for increased Chinese government-sponsored economic espionage,” according to the filing.

The departments also contended in their filing that China Telecom had made inaccurate statements about where its US records were stored, and that it had made inaccurate statements to US customers about its cybersecurity and privacy practices that may fall short of complying with US law.

Concerning the second question if expropriation of Globe and PLDT assets has legal basis, the big answer is none. The 1987 Constitution allows expopriation of private landholdings and ill-gotten assets, but is quiet on private assets to be given to another private entity, specifically a favored one.

The Constitution allows expropriation proceedings on landholdings for public use under its power of eminent domain. In fact, RA 10729, or the Right of Way Act, has been enacted during the incumbency of Benigno Aquino III mainly to hasten construction of road projects and other infrastructures.

But it could not be used to acquire private assets to be given to a favored third party. Expropriation proceedings for PLDT and Globe Telecom assets could not be invoked because they have been rightfully acquired and do not in any way constitute ill-gotten wealth.

Acquiring their assets mainly because they have failed to provide “adequate services” is a weak argument and does not rest on solid legal, albeit moral, grounds. Duterte does not possess the legal trumpcard to proceed with what he had announced in his SONA. They could be regarded as ramblings of a confused mind that has gone berserk.

Acquiring PLDT and Globe Telecom assets to be given to the favored Dito Telecom is a highly politicized move that would only destroy the reputation of the Philippines in global business. It constitutes a barrier to entry; it would discourage potential investors to enter because the country’s rules on investments do not appear sound, fair, and impartial.

At best, Duterte could only allow the entire processes to unfold without fear or favor. If Dito Telecom could not meet its commitments and obligations, the national government should acquire the P25.7 billion which the third telco has earlier posted as performance bond.

Shortcutting the entire system to give a free ride to his Chinese friends would not work. It would certainly bring disrepute to the Philippines. It would only damage its reputation in the international community.

ABS-CBN NOT NEW TO MEDIUM MIGRATION

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

THE ongoing migration of ABS-CBN programs to the digital platform is not a new phenomenon for the broadcast network. Way back in the mid-1960s, ABS-CBN transferred a number of its highly rated radio-based programs to television, which was then a rising medium in the country.

At that time, few households had TV sets. The transfer of those popular programs triggered brisk sales of TV sets in major cities to enable household members to watch TV programs and get free entertainment.

Among the popular radio-based programs that migrated to TV were "Tawag ng Tanghalan," the much acclaimed weekly nationwide amateur singing contest, "Buhay Artista," the sitcom program that featured the pair of notable comedians - Dolphy and Panchito, and Tang-Tarang-Tang, the sitcom that highlighted equally comedians Pugo and Bentot.

Despite the migration of these popular, highly rated programs to TV, radio has remained until now a popular medium. TV and radio have learned to co-exist as major components of the broadcast media. Print media and broadcast media constitute the traditional media.

Can ABS-CBN replicate what it did in the 1960s?

There are several factors to consider. The use of digital platform for commercial purposes is relatively new in the Philippines. Online media is largely confined to the so-called millennials (15-40 age bracket). The older population have remained stuck in the traditional media.

The national household 2019 survey of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) says 82 percent of all households nationwide have TV sets and 18 percent have Internet access. But 48 percent of the population have electronic gadgets – cell phones, tablets, desktop PCs, and the like.

But the current situation, where the pandemic is demanding less physical contact, could be a factor for a sudden rise in Internet connections for most households. Distance learning, where students would have to stay at home while receiving instructions from their teachers based elsewhere, could lead to increased purchases of electronic gadgets.

Moreover, the adoption of "work at home" for many workers could mean more Internet connections and electronic gadgets for use, making digital technology accessible to ordinary workers.

This is the challenge for the ABS-CBN. Its top honchos have rightly seen the rise of digital platform as the appropriate competitor of traditional media. The digital platform has come of age in the country. The challenge is to tap its commercial side.

Incidentally, the use of digital technology is not subject to any franchise, unlike broadcast media, which uses air waves, an integral part of the national patrimony.

Hence, the non-renewal of its franchise could be the proverbial blessing in disguise that could bring greater success for ABS-CBN.

The lawmakers in Congress did not see the current technological advances. They were too consumed by a combination of greed, hatred, ignorance and subservience to the mad man from the South. 

GOODBYE 'OLD NORMAL', WELCOME 'NEW NORMAL'

By Philip M. Lustre Jr. 

IT appears to be a compelling thought that what we consider the “old normal” may not come back at all. Hence, we have to come to grip that the “new normal” is already on us. The only choice to is accept it and adapt to it.

In brief, those scenes where we shake hands, smile a lot, talk animatedly, or laugh boisterously are things of the past. Now, social distancing, not physical contact, is the norm. But this is only the starting point. The new normal connotes massive changes in the educational system, particularly schools, workplace, and every mode of human interaction.

“The realization that there is no going back to the ‘old normal’ is a somber thought. It is now imperative that global, regional, and national commitments are geared towards transitioning properly to the ‘New Normal,’” says DICT Secretary Gregorio Honasan in his June 22 letter to Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, the deputy speaker who chairs the House committee on the new normal.

The Legarda committee on the new normal has been ascertaining the various roadmaps and agendas, which the line agencies have come out to adapt to the effects of the pandemic. It has been holding public hearings to hear the views of state officials. It has yet to come out with a consolidated report, which it would submit to Congress to serve as its guide and input for various purposes including the proposed national budget for 2021.

“These commitments would entail addressing the challenges and gaps in digital technologies and infrastructure that are now critical components of pandemic preparedness and socio-economic resilience and sustainability,” the DICT paper says.

The DICT paper indicates the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus called Covid-19 has come suddenly to challenge mankind to adapt immediately. Because the pandemic has overhauled human interaction, It says the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has to hasten the development and use of digital technology as the principal mode of communications.

“The experience of recent months in the Philippines saw the acceleration of the country’s adoption of digital technologies, both in direct intervention efforts such as providing immediate response to health, medical and other emergencies, and other mitigating initiatives,” the DICT paper says.

“The use of these technologies has surged due to the increase in citizens’ access of social services, educational and job opportunities and livelihood online; not to mention the migration of socio-political and economic activities of both the public and private sector to cyberspace in the span of only a few weeks,” it says.

“With the increasing dependence and reliance on digital technologies, there is a need to strengthen Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure and ensure that every citizen has access to vital services. On the macro level, there is a need to ensure minimal disruption of our governance and economic processes in order to survive under the ‘New Normal,’” it says.

***

After the Department of Health, which takes the pandemic head on, the DICT is probably the second busiest state agency. It will have to take the bull by its horn as it has to hasten laying down the digital technologies under the era of the new normal. As the lead agency to lead the country’s digital transformation for the new normal, the DICT will have to identify and put in use the necessary digital technologies in the new normal.

Take education, for instance. The old normal where students were gathered in classroom for face-to-face instructions does not appear practical at the moment. In its lieu is distance learning, where students use digital technologies in their homes to get instruction from their teachers. The sheer magnitude of this task forces DICT to work triple time.

“The subsequent surge in demand for Internet access has exposed the gaps in the country’s digital infrastructure that need the most urgent attention. The forthcoming opening of the academic school year on the 24th August 2020, for example, is the first major litmus test of the country’s digital capacity to provide connectivity in public places where students may be able to access the Internet for free,” the DICT paper says.

“The task of providing Internet access to public areas, which is the primary mandate of the Free Wifi for All Program (FW4A),5 places an immense responsibility on the DICT to provide connectivity to a majority of these communal locations,” it says.

The workplace is another area which the DICT would have to intervene. The old normal where workers gather in a single workplace is no different from the classroom. Workers would have to work at home. Again, the DICT intervention is necessary to lay down the digital infrastructure to ensure viability of the work from home lifestyle.

“The Digital Workforce Program is aimed at bridging the skill gaps necessary for the Filipino workforce to transition and adapt to the demands and needs of the ‘New Normal.’ It focuses on building the capacities of Filipino workers in the Government or Public Sector, as well as those belonging to the vulnerable industries,” the DICT paper says.

Developing digital education and digital workforce would require the task to develop digital skills of teachers, students and workers and laying down the digital infrastructure, which includes the establishment of the National Broadband Program to ensue digital connectivity to the entire country.

DISASTROUS EFFECTS OF FOREIGN POLICY PIVOT TO CHINA

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

DEALING with China is dealing with a rogue state.

This appears to be the main lesson Italy has learned when it has opened its economy to China. Worst, Italy is one of the most ravaged country by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The troubles arising from Italy-China relations offer a cautionary tale for the Philippines, which like Italy, has opened its economy to China’s entry. The Philippine political leadership, led by the foul-mouthed Rodrigo Duterte has opened major sectors – telecommunications, energy, tourism, and key infrastructures to Chinese entry and control.

This is not to mention the entry of so-called Philippine offshore gaming operators, POGOs, mostly, if not all, Chinese firms that provide online gaming operations to specific markets, particularly China. The presence of tens of thousands of Chinese POGO workers has been a major irritant to many Filipinos mainly because of their unhealthy, or unsanitary, ways.

Italy-China relations offer many lessons.  Press reports said a year after Italy signed up to China’s global investment program, the Belt and Road initiative, relations between Rome and Peking have started to deteriorate rather than strengthen.

The much awaited economic benefits for Italy have yet to materialize, as its trade deficit with China has widened in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic did not alleviate the situation, as Italy had moved to stop all flights to China over worries about the dreaded virus.

Alongside stalled investments, trade benefits did not add up for Italy. Italian exports to China showed a decline of one percentage point in 2019, even as overall foreign sales rose, according to preliminary figures released by statistics agency Istat in January. With Chinese imports growing, Italy’s total trade deficit with China climbed to €18.7 billion ($20 billion).

Tensions related to the virus “will blow over once Covid disappears,” said Jan Weidenfeld of the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin. “But those fundamental issues of reassessment of what’s doing business with China means, that is here to stay.”

Italian author Giacomino Nicolazzo recounted the way ex- Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s government has allowed China to get away with purchases and acquisitions in violation of Italian laws and European Union trade agreements with the United States and the United Kingdom.

“In 2014, China infused the Italian economy with €5 billion through purchases of companies costing less than €100 million each. By the time Renzi left office (in disgrace) in 2016, Chinese acquisitions had exceeded €52 billion,” said Nicolazzo.

When the dust settled, China owned more than 300 companies representing 27 percent of the major Italian firms. Nicolazzo said the Bank of China now owns five major banks in Italy, all of which had been secretly and illegally propped up by Renzi using pilfered pension funds. He claimed soon after, the China Milan Equity Exchange was opened  and much of Italy’s wealth was being funneled back to the Chinese mainland.

Chinese state entities own Italy’s major telecommunication corporation (Telecom Italia) as well as its major utilities (ENI and ENEL) and national power grid. “Throughout all of these purchases and acquisitions, Renzi’s government afforded the Chinese unrestricted and unfettered access to Italy and its financial markets, many coming through without customs inspections,” said Nicolazzo.

“Quite literally, tens of thousands of Chinese came in illegally through Milan and went back home carrying money, technology and corporate secrets. Thousands more were allowed to enter and disappeared into shadows of Milan and other manufacturing cities of Lombardy, only to surface in illegal sewing shops, producing knock-off designer clothes and slapping ‘Made In Italy’ labels on them -- all with the tacit approval of the Renzi government.”

“This should hopefully be a warning to the world that while we work to rid ourselves of the virus, we should just as vehemently endeavor to rid ourselves of any government that circumvents the Constitution and ignores the laws of the land,” stressed Nicolazzo.

The Philippines has been following in Italy in its unabashed foreign policy pivot to favor China. Since Duterte’s election in 2016, China’s presence has been quite noticeable.

Encroachment into the country is highlighted by published reports that 3,000 members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have entered the country either  tourists or workers in POGO firms.  Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chair of the Senate committee on national defense and security, said he had received what could be considered an unverified information from a source that 2,000 to 3,000 PLA personnel are in the country on “immersion missions” and other unknown purposes.

“If true, we have every reason to be concerned because of the circumstances surrounding the West Philippine Sea, not to mention the unusually high number of Chinese influx and the unexplainable amount of monies flowing into the country from [the] Chinese…” said Lacson.

The PLA report comes at the heels of security fears hounding the Philippines’ power and telecommunications sectors, due to China’s control over the national grid and the entry of the third major telecommunications firm.

Legislative probes have already been conducted into national security threats resulting from Chinese ownership and control of the Philippines’ power grid, given that the State Grid Corporation of China is the single biggest equity holder in the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) at 40%.

In the telecommunications sector, the Philippine military is opening up its bases and camps to Chinese government presence by allowing Dito Telecommunity to build facilities in military camps and installations. Dito is a consortium of Filipino businessman Dennis Uy’s holdings firm Udenna Corporation with a 35% stake, his listed company Chelsea Logistics, 25%, and the Chinese government-owned and -controlled China Telecom, 40%.

According to Sen. Francis Pangilinan, an assessment from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on the move to allow Dito Telecommunity to put up its towers in military camps warned of the possibility of eavesdropping by the China-linked telecommunications firm.

With anti-China sentiment rising in the Philippines, the Duterte government can learn from the experiences of its European counterpart. Italy’s former deputy prime minister and opposition leader Matteo Salvini warned that “trade agreements, friendship and cultural relations are fine, but handing over the keys of our home to Chinese companies, which depend on the state -- no.”

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas cautioned that if some countries “think they can do clever deals with the Chinese, they will come down to earth with a bump.” #

PARALLEL COUNT: WHYS AND WHEREFORES

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

(N.B. In 1992, my colleagues in the journalistic community installed me as media director of the Media-Citizens’ Quick Count (MCQC), which, under the election laws at that time, was tasked to conduct a parallel count of the results of the 1992 presidential elections. As media director, my task was to inform the public re details of the MCQC parallel count. But my job did not limit me to the dissemination of institutional information for public consumption. It had exposed me too to the sad realities of Philippine politics. Please read my recollections of my MCQC experience and their relevance to the present situation.)

NO sane man trusts the official vote count of the watchdog Commission on Elections (Comelec). It is always been subject to numerous questions. Lest we forget our electoral mindset is that Filipino politicians generally don’t lose; they just get cheated.

It was on the basis of this premise that Christian Monsod, whom Cory Aquino named to head Comelec after Ramon Felipe Jr. finished his term as chairman in 1990 and retired from public service, took steps to institute parallel count to dispel nasty rumors and questions about Comelec’s institutional integrity. Monsod made sure that the institutional body to conduct parallel count would be a joint body that had media and citizens as key components.

Hence, the Media Citizens’ Quick Count, or MCQC, was born in 1991. The media arm was composed of the various media outfits at that time; they were mostly traditional media – newspapers, magazines, and broadcast networks (radio networks and TV stations.) The citizens’ arm was the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel). Namfrel had a sterling record of being the main citizens’ arm in the 1986 “snap” presidential elections.

Namfrel was not new to parallel count. It did its parallel count of the 1986 presidential elections, where it had Cory Aquino as winner, but had to stop its unofficial count at 75 percent, when it could no longer retrieve election returns from the field in what was widely described as fraudulent elections under the Marcos dictatorship.

Marcos had to call a snap presidential elections because of serious questions on his legitimacy as president of the Philippines. The international community viewed him as a mere interloper, as he ruled the country without any mandate from the Filipino people.

Quick count was a misnomer; the appropriate term was parallel count. Even Monsod knew no one could trust Comelec’s official count. Comelec, at that time, was a dubious institution with a dubious reputation when it came to its primary mandate - vote count and overseeing the conduct of elections. It was described as a major institution that had to learn how to count.

Hence, a parallel count is premised on the sordid reality that Comelec as the electoral watchdog is capable of institutional cheating. Empirical data show it cheats to favor certain candidates. The 1986 presidential elections was a classic example. Comelec, as an institution, went all out to cheat Cory Aquino in favor of Ferdinand Marcos.

The scandalous manner how Comelec cheated was well chronicled to the point that the international community did not accept Marcos electoral victory in 1986. It was a major antecedent to the 1986 EDSA People Revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship.

When conducted by reputable private watchdog organizations, a parallel count would provide a double check on Comelec’s official count. A parallel count would give protesters the basis for their electoral protests. A parallel count is the best way to ensure the integrity of political exercises.

The Comelec official count and the parallel count have the same bases: election returns from the fields. The parallel count we had at MCQC was even stringent because it went down to the precinct level.

Monsod wanted the parallel count to succeed because it was his way to prove that the restored democracy was working. The 1992 presidential elections was the first presidential polls to be held after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. Besides, Monsod was one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution. He wanted the restored democracy to succeed.

The 1992 presidential elections went smoothly. Fidel V. Ramos won the elections. MCQC did its job of a parallel count. Its report to the Comelec says its parallel count covered over 98 percent of all election returns.

Eddie Nuque, who was MCQC executive director and with whom I worked closely (I was directly under him), had prepared a complete report detailing the extent of its parallel count. In fact, the MCQC parallel count project was a model of other emerging democracies that included the likes of Nepal, among others.

FAST FORWARD TO MAY 10, 2010. It was the first presidential polls that used the automated electoral system. The use of automated election system was Comelec’s answer to criticisms that its official count was slow and prone to fraud.

The 2010 presidential elections was unique in the sense that nobody, even Monsod, knew exactly the use of parallel count in an automated election system. Since winners could be known in a matter of hours, it made no sense to conduct a parallel count.

A parallel count was most useful in previous presidential elections because they employed manual count. Actually, it took weeks for a manual count to determine the winners. A manual count is essentially a slow count.

The 2004 presidential elections, the last to have employed a manual count, was manipulated to have GMA and Noli de Castro proclaimed as winners. Even Monsod, the election guru, had a hard time figuring out the role of private watchdogs to ensure free, clean, and honest elections in an automated election system.

I was the media consultant of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente), a civil society organization that has been formed in 2007 to provide legal services to fraternal organizations that work to ensure fair elections. Lente was also empowered to provide legal services on electoral protests and cases brought to court.

There was hardly a parallel count of the 2010 presidential elections, but it was a different story in the 2019 midterm elections, when the PPCRV, Comelec’s citizens arm, together with various media outfits have formed a parallel count project to enable the people to know immediately the outcome of the elections.

But the transparency server collapsed at 6:15 pm, or a few minutes after the polling precincts had closed. There were numerous criticisms about the absence of the PPCRV-KBP parallel count and by the time, Comelec had resumed its transparency server, it had the candidates of Hugpong as either winning or leading, triggering serious doubts about the integrity of the elections.

We don’t know the mechanics of a parallel count. At this point, it’s best to look into the parallel country of PPCRV-KBP to determine the integrity of the elections results. Without looking into the parallel count, the results sre still subject to serious doubts.

FAST FORWARD TO 2020. The worst pandemic due to the novel coronavirus is affecting the world, leading to the infection of over three million worldwide. Many countries, including the Philippines, have instituted lockdowns and quarantine measures.

The prognosis is the Philippines would be among the countries to relax its quarantine measures. It would be back to normal within this year. Soon, the entire country would address the 2022 presidential elections. Candidates vying for the country’s top political post would appear from the horizon to offer themselves as alternatives.

As it has been customary in the last six post-Marcos presidential elections, the process would be intense and emotional. The dynamics would be passionate and nerve-wracking. Candidates are not expected to give any quarters to the opponents.

Given the lessons of the 2019 midterm elections when the transparency server broke down minutes after the start of official count and winners had emerged after six or seven hours of disappearance, it has been asserted that measures should be taken to prevent the repetition of the nasty experience.

There are suggestions to have a parallel count of the results of the 2022 presidential elections. How this would be done is something that has to be conceptualized by elections gurus and technicians. This is a matter expected to dominate in brainstorming sessions.

So much is at stake in 2022. We should not allow Inferior Davao and its chief sponsor – China – to tamper with our electoral system. They have to be stopped before the Philippines becomes a province of China.    

 (OJO: I would discuss this issue in the next blogs.)

DON'T BE HOPEFUL ON THIRD TELCO

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

DON’T be too hopeful. The third telco after the PLDT Group and Globe Telecom may still emerge, but it would be a little late. Or it may not emerge at all. Reasons for the delay of non-appearance: novel coronavirus pandemic and changes in U.S. policies.

The planned July 1, 2021 start of commercial operations of Dito Telecommunity Corporation remains a plan. Many variables, foreseen and unforeseen , would come to play to hinder its target date of commercial operations. The pandemic has affected China, Dito’s main source of technological knowhow and raw materials, including the rolling stocks for its construction and infrastructure works.

The pandemic has triggered delays and postponement of the delivery of the inputs for Dito’s infrastructure, according to Adel Tamano, chief administrative officer. Affected largely are the construction and infrastructure works in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, Tamano said, adding that health and safety issues linger on its workforce because of the pandemic.

Although Dito has claimed its rollout was continuing amid the pandemic, Tamano indicated the third telco firm could have difficulties to meet the technical launch by July this year, where the firm could provide services to 37 percent of the population with a minimum average speed of 27 megabits per second during its first year of operations.

According to its terms of reference with the government, Dito has promised to provide by the end of its fifth year telecommunications coverage to 84 percent of the country’s population at a minimum average speed of at least 55 mbps.

The technical launch differs from the rollout of commercial services to subscribers, which could come as early as July 21, 2021, Tamano said. Metro Manila and urban areas in Luzon are key markets to ensure Dito meets its population coverage targets.

“Let me assure the public that we are very much aware of the pressing need for world class connectivity that Filipinos truly deserve which this global pandemic has made even more evident,” Tamano said.

DICT Undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said Dito Telecom might not invoke force majeure, or protection due to unforeseen events like the COVID-19 pandemic, should it miss its rollout targets. Press reports said the bidding terms of reference allow a grace period in case of a delay in rollout. Section 14 of the terms of reference allows the telecom firm two grace periods of six months each within the five-year commitment period.

The government would not grant special extensions to its rollout commitments despite the COVID-19 crisis that keeps on disrupting the global supply chain. Rio said. Dito could not seek reprieve by invoking force majeure, or protection due to unforeseen events such as the pandemic, because this was not included in the terms of reference.

Dito, backed by China Telecom and the group of Davao City-based businessman Dennis A. Uy, is to hold its technical launch by July. Its failure to meet its commitments would allow the national government to seize its P25.7-billion performance bond and recall assigned radio frequencies. The terms of reference, however, allow a grace period in case of a delay in its rollout, but not it in schedule to go into commercial operations.

“If they, for example, miss the July deadline but were able to comply six months later, they will be allowed to continue, but that would be their strike one,” Rio said in a press conference. “If that happens again within the five-year period, that would be their strike two. But strike three, they are out,” he added.

Dito Telecom won the bid to launch a nationwide telecommunications service to challenge PLDT Group and Globe Telecom. Its license to operate was given on July 8, 2019 in an event that outlined rollout milestones including its technical launch by July 2020.

It’s dubious if Dito Telecom was  “on track” to meet its commitments amid disruptions caused by the pandemic and the two-month Luzon lockdown. Still, Dito Telecom has not asked telco regulators for some leniency amid the health crisis as their July “technical launch” nears. “This means they are on track even with this emergency situation that we’re having now,” Rio said.

Dito Telecom was reported to have started searching for “alternative sources” of technology and raw materials to start their operations after its deliveries from China got stuck. The firm did not explain any details for alternative sources of technology.

This is not the issue that confronts Dito Telecom. Policy issues in the United States could strike Dito Telecom adversely affecting its planned commercial operations next year. Dito Telecom would have a hard time operating here thin the country once the China Telecom is banned in the US since there will be a problem in the interconnection in cyberspace.

Several US Departments had encouraged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke China Telecom (Americas) Corp’s authorization to provide  international telecommunications services to and from the US. “This recommendation reflects the substantial and unacceptable national security and law enforcement risks associated with China Telecom’s continued access to US telecommunications infrastructure,” said the group of departments, which include State, Justice, Defense, Homeland Security, and Commerce, in a statement, along with the United States Trade Representative, in a statement regarding the filling at the FCC recently.

The call is in the midst of the continuous scrutiny being done by FCC to China Telecom in an investigation that was started last year. The US subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned telecommunications company holds the license to grant service in the US since 2007. The FCC united to vote May of last year to deny the request of another state-owned Chinese telecommunications company, the Mother mobile, to grant service in the US.

According to FCC chairman Ajit Pai, the commission was able to determine following the vote that China Mobile was controlled by the Chinese government. It was mentioned in a statement that there could be danger in the possibility of the Chinese government using the approval of the FCC to conduct espionage or spying against the US government.

The telecommunications companies of China are thoroughly being scrutinized  by the US. Just last year, lawmakers urged FCC to review China Telecom and the other Chinese telecommunication company, the China Unicom. Also last year, the Trump administration placed Huawei Technologies – the Chinese telecoms company that is the global leader in next-generation 5G technology, on an “entity list” and barred it from buying critical components from its American suppliers.

The US has also urged other governments around the world to exclude Huawei from developing their 5G infrastructure, citing national security risks. In a recent filing, the departments contended that the Chinese government has “ultimate ownership and control” of China Telecom and the company’s US operations.

Such ownership might allow Chinese government entities “to engage in malicious cyber activity enabling economic espionage and disruption and misrouting of US communications” and “provide opportunities for increased Chinese government-sponsored economic espionage,” according to the filing. 

The departments also contended in their filing that China Telecom had made inaccurate statements about where its US records were stored, and that it had made inaccurate statements to US customers about its cybersecurity and privacy practices that may fall short of complying with US law.