Telecommunications firm seeks partners to relaunch operations

MANILA, Philippines - A telecommunications firm, whose ownership was marred with controversy due to the involvement of alleged Marcos cronies, is scouting for partners to help in the company's revival. Philippine Communications Satellite Corp. (Philcomsat) President and Chief Executive Lin Bildner said the company "has been in serious discussions with local and foreign partners" for a possible relaunch in the telco industry. "Philcomsat is committed to meeting the mandate of providing telecommunications services to the public as we respectfully request the earliest consideration by the commission so that we can finally put Philomsat, a company partly owned by the government, back on the telecommunications map," Bildner said in a letter to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). Philcomsat is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Philippine Overseas Telecommunications Corp., which was sequestered by the Philippine Commission on Good Governance in 1986 as it was allegedly acquired through ill-gotten wealth through businessmen linked with former president and dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos. In November 2007, Philcomsat finally elected a "unified" board which is now working at reviving the company's business. In line with the business revival, Bildner asked the NTC to approve Philcomsat's rehabilitation plans and renew its licenses for various telecommunications operations. Philcomsat also asked the NTC to re-compute fees imposed on the company since 1996 as these include Treasury shares. It also asked the regulator to waive penalties charged on the company from 2003 to 2007 when it incurred losses due to internal corporate disputes. - GMANews.TV