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GLOBE
TELECOM asked the National Telecommunications Commission
(NTC) Thursday to impose sanctions on Pilipino Telephone
Corp. (Piltel) for forum-shopping even as the commission
already said the latter is not guilty of it.
In its
motion for reconsideration, the joint venture between
Ayala Corp. and SingTel insisted that Piltel’s July 10
and July 25 letter-complaints contained exactly the same
allegations and involve the same parties, subject
matters and issues, and prayers. Piltel said Globe,
therefore, violated the rules against forum-shopping and
splitting a single a cause of action.
“Where
there is one direct or wrong, there is but a single
cause of action regardless of the number of rights
violated belonging to one person. All such rights should
be alleged in a single complaint; otherwise, they are
barred forever,” said Globe in its filing with the NTC.
Piltel
is asking the NTC to order Globe to reinstate its
“Unlimitxt” rates priced P15 for one day, P25 for two
days and P50 for five days.
When
Globe replaced its “Unlimitxt” in February, Piltel said
the cellular firm effectively increased the
text-messaging rates. This, added Piltel, is clear
evidence that Globe committed a violation of the law, as
well as regulations and circulars of the NTC prohibiting
predatory pricing.
“Unlimitxt” was replaced with All-Day Unlimited Texting
(P20 for one day, P40 for two days and P80 for four
days); Daytime Unlimited Texting (P15 for one day, P30
for two days); Nighttime Unlimited Texting (P10 for one
day, P20 for two days); and Unlimited Texting Plus
Discounted Intercarrier SMS Rate or TXTPLUS (plus P25
for one day, plus P50 for two days).
“This is
clearly a violation of the NTC 2002 circular. The fact
that [Globe] unilaterally ceased offering its
“Unlimitxt” after a short period of time and replaced it
with promotional offerings with marked higher prices
prima facie establishes that [Globe] engaged in
predatory pricing,” said Piltel.
The NTC
defines predatory pricing in a 2002 circular as a
situation where a rate is below the appropriate cost of
supplying the service, and/or is at a level that is so
low that it cannot be sustained in the long term when
compared with the charges for interconnect services.
But
Globe had asked the NTC to dismiss Piltel’s complaint.
Two weeks ago, however, the NTC denied Globe’s motion
to dismiss and granted Piltel’s motion for judgment on
the pleadings. In issuing the order, the NTC reasoned
that there could be no forum-shopping on the part of
Piltel because there is only one forum involved, which
in this case is the NTC. And, in granting Piltel’s
motion, an NTC hearing officer declared that Globe can
no longer be allowed to file a supplemental answer.
Piltel
argued there is no forum-shopping since the cases were
filed in one and the same forum. “Piltel is not shopping
for a favorable forum because the cases were filed in
only one forum, the NTC,” it said. When Piltel filed its
motion to intervene last July 20, Globe was asked by the
NTC on August 7 to comment on a verified complaint by
Piltel against Globe, which complaint is incidentally
dated also as July 20.
“While
Globe insists that the prayer is the same, this can only
be based on the fact that Globe has the propensity to
violate the rules of the NTC against predatory pricing
and unfair trade competition. Clearly, the allegations
in these complaints refer to two different promos of
Globe, which violate the same administrative
proscription,” Piltel had said.
But
according to Globe, this is a “fallacious reasoning,”
because the law does not quantify that the other action
should be in another or separate court, tribunal or
quasi-judicial agency.
“Piltel
cannot escape liability from the sanctions provided
for by the rules against forum shopping and splitting a
cause of action, as the same are applicable to motions
to intervene such as the one now in issue and filed by
Piltel,” said Globe. |
