Andanar: Hard to doubt Dennis Uy-China Tel group’s win in third telco race

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar on Sunday defended the naming of the Mislatel Consortium as the provisional third telco in the Philippines, citing the "transparent" bidding process last week.

In a radio interview aired on DWFM on Sunday, Andanar said the public shouldn't doubt the win of the consortium, which consists of Dennis Uy's Udenna Corp., its subsidiary Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp., and Chinese state-owned China Telecommunications Corp.

"...With the transparency that happened that transpired to the selection of the third telco, mahirap naman na pagdudahan natin na ganun-ganoon lang," said Andanar.

At least six officers of the Filipino companies behind the consortium contributed a total of P35.55 million to then-presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte's campaign in 2016.

Three bids were submitted to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) last week—Mislatel; SEAR, a consortium of TierOne and Chavit Singson-led LCS Group of Companies; and the Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (PT&T).

Only Mislatel, however, qualified as the NTC said both the TierOne-LCS consortium and PT&T lacked requirements.

Andanar said that he knows Uy and praised him as someone who has "really persevered," and someone who is "very young and yet he’s one of the newest tycoons that we have in Philippine business."

He added, "And I think Dennis should really serve as an inspiration to the aspiring entrepreneurs of the country and in Southeast Asia."

Uy currently has interests in fuel retailer Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc., shipping and logistics group Chelsea Holdings Corp., real estate developer Udenna Development Corp., and water firm Udenna & Integrated Services, among others.

"And partner naman ni Dennis is China Telecom. So the China Telecom is a very big company. It has a very big portfolio in China and Hong Kong. At alam ko naman na, alam din ng lahat na they have so much capital and, ang pagiging third telco ng bansa natin is not easy," said Andanar.

"There are so many bumps and humps and challenges ahead. Kailangan nilang mag-provide ng internet, better coverage sa ating mga kababayan na gumagamit pa rin ng cellphone for communications," he added.

In its bid, Mislatel vowed to attain an 84.01-percent nationwide coverage, minimum internet speed of 55 megabits per second (Mbps), and a capex/opex of P27 billion by its fifth year of operations.

"So we welcome the entry of Dennis Uy and company and his partners, at sana ay talagang ibigay nila iyong serbisyo at iyong kalidad at iyong bilis ng internet na kailangan ng mga kababayan natin. And sana rin ay makapagbigay sila ng coverage doon sa mga areas ng Pilipinas na hanggang ngayon ay wala pa ring mobile services," Andanar said. — BM, GMA News