THE Court of Appeals (CA) has issued a writ of preliminary injunction indefinitely preventing the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) from reviewing the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Globe Telecommunications’s P70-billion buyout deal of the telco assets of San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
In a seven-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Ramon Bato Jr., the CA’s Twelfth Division, in effect, granted the temporary relief sought in the petitions of PLDT. The writ specifically enjoins the antitrust body ”from conducting further proceedings for the preacquisition review and/or investigation of the subject acquisition.”
In support of its plea for an injunction, PLDT alleged that in conducting a comprehensive review of the said acquisition, PCC committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction because it disregarded its own rules in violation of the company’s right to due process and equal protection clause.
PLDT argued that under PCC Memorandum 16-001 and 16-002, upon filing by PLDT of the required notice, the subject acquisition is “deemed approved” allowing it to immediately utilize the newly acquired 700MHZ spectrum to improve mobile internet speeds and coverage for the benefit of the consuming public.