Tonyboy quits PLDT after losing shares

Antonio "Tonyboy" Cojuangco has quit as a director of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), barely a month after the Sandiganbayan awarded his shares in the telecommunications giant to the government. PLDT, in a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange, said the resignation took effect on January 7. "It is the proper time, and my decision is the appropriate thing to do," Cojuangco said in his resignation letter, which was attached to the disclosure. Cojuangco was chief executive officer of PLDT before the Manuel Pangilinan-led First Pacific Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong took over the company in 2002 with the acquisition of a 17.2 percent stake. The Sandiganbayan last December 12 – acting on a Supreme Court ruling - awarded the PLDT shares that Cojuangco held through Philippine Telecommunications Investment Corp. (PTIC) to the government. The antigraft court’s move effectively eased Cojuangco out of the telecom giant. In January 2006, the Supreme Court declared the Cojuangco-owned shares in PTIC. were part of the ill-gotten wealth amassed by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies. In August, it denied with finality a motion for reconsideration. The high court ordered that the 111,415 PTIC shares registered in the name of Prime Holdings Corp. (PHC), equivalent to a 6.4 percent stake in PLDT, be turned over to the government. On Tuesday, PLDT shares closed unchanged at P2,450 in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). PLDT said the resignation would not have a significant impact on the firm's operations. "The above event is not expected to have any significant impact on the company's current or future operations, financial position or results of operation," PLDT said. A security analyst agreed that Cojuangco's departure from PLDT's board would not affect the company's operations. "He resigned because of the PTIC issue… but this will not create any impact," said Grace Cerdenia, managing director of online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia said. "At this stage, the market already knows that Tonyboy is already busy with his other business ventures," she added. Cojuangco was one of 11 directors on PLDT's board. - GMANews.TV