|
LIBERTY
Telecom Holdings Inc. (LTHI) and its subsidiaries—
Liberty Broadcasting Network Inc. (LBNI) and Skyphone
Logistics Inc.—on Friday asked the Makati Regional Trial
Court to erase from the court records the motion to
terminate the ongoing rehabilitation proceedings and to
allow its liquidation, saying the motion filed by Rizal
Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) is a “mere scrap of
paper” and its allegations are “baseless.”
The
company also asked the court to nullify the subpoenas
issued against National Telecommunications Commission
officials (NTC), headed by commissioner Ruel Canobas,
frequency management division (FMD) head Pricilla
Demition, former FMD acting chief Joselito Leynes, and
legal director Abigail Santillan-Felix.
The four
were compelled by the court to appear on Friday to
testify on the services which the NTC has authorized
Liberty and the corresponding frequencies awarded to the
debt-ridden firm. But nobody showed up and instead, the
NTC chief asked that the hearing be reset on June 6.
However,
NTC’s appeal to reset was dismissed by Judge Cesar
Untalan, as he noted that “the motion to rest is
canceled because there is now a motion to quash.”
Liberty said RCBC’s motion is a “sham pleading” because
there is no proof that the NTC has granted and allocated
the 700-megahertz (MHz) frequency spectrum from LBNI to
Smart Broadband Inc. (SBI), the wireless-broadband unit
of Smart Communications Inc.
“The
700-MHz frequency assigned and allocated by the NTC to
LBNI is still in the name of LBNI. It is not right for
RCBC to make a bare and unsubstantiated allegation….This
allegation is not only unsubstantiated but the same is
contrary to the letter attached by RCBC to its motion. A
reading of the said letters will clearly show that they
only pertain to the application for 48-MHz frequency
bandwidth. There is no proof whatsoever in the letters
that the NTC has granted and allocated LBNI’s frequency
to SBI,” said Liberty.
In the
documents attached to RCBC’s motion, only SBI’s
application was inserted. The latter said the NTC had
required it to submit documents to support its claim
that the frequency spectrum is necessary.
“Requesting SBI to submit brief descriptions of the
broadband services it intends to offer means that the
NTC is entertaining the application of SBI. The NTC
should not have done this because it knows that the
frequency being applied for by SBI was already allocated
to
Liberty,”
said RCBC lawyer Sixto Jose Antonio. He added that this
is why the NTC was called to testify.
But
counsels for Liberty believe that RCBC is engaged ‘in a
fishing expedition’ for information from the NTC with
respect to the operation and business of
Liberty.
Further, they said RCBC filed the said motion only to
harass the petitioner corporations and to jeopardize and
sabotage the rehabilitation process.
“The
purpose of such act of RCBC is not to promote
rehabilitation but to derail and defeat the rehab of
petitioners. This act of RCBC is contemptuous which
should not be countenanced by the court and thus said
motion of RCBC should be expunged from the records of
the instant case,” lawyer Paterno Esmaquel told
reporters.
Esmaquel
said Liberty owes RCBC P33 million out of the telecoms
firm’s P1.7 billion in total obligations. “We have to
bear in mind that the purpose of rehab proceedings is
not to terminate and liquidate a corporation but to
enable the company to gain a new lease of life and
thereby allow creditors to be paid their claims for its
earnings,” he said.
Liberty
also said RCBC’s motion is not in accordance with the
interim rules of procedure of corporate rehab. “The
motion filed and served by RCBC is not verified at all.
If they move to verify their motion I will accuse them
of falsification of public documents because they know
for a fact that there is no NTC approval and that they
cannot produce any document showing proof that the NTC
had allocated to SBI the frequencies of LBNI,” added
Esmaquel.
LTHI is
owned by businessman Raymund Moreno and is the holding
company of LBNI and SLI. LBNI has a Congressional
franchise to provide telecommunication and broadcast
services while SLI performs the marketing, distribution
and logistics support services.
LTHI had
promised it would operate a nationwide voice and data
network called WiMax, which, it claimed, will be the
main service or product in the 10-year rehab plan.
The
WiMax network, which will provide wireless broadband
service, is expected to contribute more than 90 percent
to LTHI’s total projected revenues. It said the
capability of LTHI to take advantage of the WiMax
technology will put the company to at least at par with
the other phone firms in the country.
According to the business plan submitted by LTHI to the
court, the wireless broadband service will provide very
high revenues and earnings due to its tremendous
potential using the existing technology and the required
frequencies. |
