September 6, 2001

THE PHILIPPINE League for Democratic Telecommunications, Inc. (PLDTI) today claimed that the moves by cellular companies Globe and Smart to dismiss the case against them at yesterday's hearing "a mere act of desperation."

"This is now apparently a clear act of desperation on the cellcos' part after
the TRO was granted, because it establishes a legal precedent against them. They now claim that the NTC has jurisdiction to rule on whether SMS is indeed deregulated or not, and not the regular courts, directly contradicting their former position," said Jonathan Domingo, PLDTI president. "Smart's lawyer Atty. Quevedo even went to great pains to argue that the pronouncements of the NTC Commissioner Rio alone, even with that of the acting head of their Legal Department, cannot bind the entire Commission as it is a three-man collegial body."

"The problem with this however, is that the NTC itself is as guilty as they are in colluding with each other. How can we be expected to go to them and seek relief when they themselves are part of the accused?" Domingo added.

"Furthermore, we have evidence to show that in fact, a majority of the NTC *did* take the position of Comm. Rio that SMS is a deregulated value-added service, which not only proves our case against them, but also destroys the cellcos' arguments that we should have gone to the NTC first."

After the cellcos submitted various motions to stop the issuance of an
injunction against them as well as to dismiss the case outright, the court gave PLDTI and the other class plaintiffs until Sept. 11 to file their responses and comments. "We will then show just why Globe and Smart's arguments, while technically correct, are inapplicable and meaningless in this case," Domingo remarked. "We will also show additional grounds why the court does have jurisdiction over this case, and why the injunction extending the life of the TRO indefinitely while the case is being heard should be granted," he added.

PLDTI is a non-stock, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting consumer rights and interests in the local telecommunications industry. Founded in 1998, PLDTI was instrumental in successfully opposing the imposition of local call metering by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. After alerting the public via a leading local newspaper, PLDTI appeared in various fora before government and media to oppose the scheme, which after widespread opposition, was eventually shelved. Today, the League continues to uphold consumer rights by publicly exposing and opposing abuses of companies and other entities in the telecomms and Internet industries.

The League and its legal counsel, Domingo and Dizon, may be reached at the following address and contact numbers:

Unit 15-B, LPL Center
130 Alfaro Street, Salcedo Village
Makati City, Metro Manila 1200

Tel Nos: +63(2) 813-3459 / 813-3497
Fax No: +63(2) 812-7997

E-mail: info[at]pldti[dot]org, jed[at]pldti[dot]org
Website: http://www.pldti.org