THE Filipino League of Advocates for Good Governance has filed a complaint against Presidential Adviser on Economic Affairs and Information Technology Ramon “RJ” Jacinto for alleged conflict of interest and for “illegally pushing for a duopoly in the tower construction of an estimated 50,000 cell towers to serve around 113 million telco subscribers in the country.”
FLAG founder Ed Cordevilla filed the complaint on Monday, saying the proposal of Jacinto to limit the number of registered common tower companies in the country to just two runs counter to the spirit of Republic Act 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act.
Previously, Jacinto said opening up cell tower construction to other companies apart from the existing telecommunications companies “would be chaos.”
“I was put in charge of common towers by the President [Rodrigo Duterte] and I am flexible to reasonable suggestions, but not this one,” he said.
In August, the President gave Jacinto a special mandate to oversee government initiatives that would achieve speedy online connectivity of government agencies, including the implementation of a common-tower policy through the National Telecommunications Commission.
However, Cordevilla said retaining the current duopoly system violates Section 14 of RA 10667, which states that agreements “which have the object or effect of substantially preventing, restricting or lessening competition shall [also] be prohibited.”
FLAG also alleged that Jacinto, who has a Cabinet rank of undersecretary, is violating RA 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
Cordevilla specifically pointed to Section 7a, which states that public officials and employees “shall not, directly or indirectly, have any financial or material interest in any transaction requiring the approval of their office.”
FLAG’s complaint noted that Jacinto’s family was into the steel manufacturing business “and that tower construction is 100 percent steel-based project.”
“The question of RJ’s moral ascendancy, therefore, also violates RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Section 3 (g, h, and i),” Cordevilla said.
This would add to the problems the Duterte administration is facing to improve mobile and Internet communications services in the country, he added.
Another key violation of Jacinto, Cordevilla said, is that of the congressional granting of franchises to telecom firms, which include their rights to build, operate and maintain their own cell towers.