Senator Panfilo M. Lacson said today telecommunication companies (telcos) should treat as a wakeup call the threat by President Duterte of a harsh government action against their inefficient operations that continue to rile consumers.  

The president hurled the threat of a drastic government action against the telcos in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the start of the second regular session of the 18th Congress of the Senate and the House of Representatives at the Batasan Pambansa complex yesterday.

‘’As one thing in the President’s statement on the issue is certain and true: that our country’s telecommunications services pale in comparison with our neighbors and with other jurisdictions in terms of speed and efficiency,’’ Lacson said.

The Chief Executive gave the end of December as deadline for these telcos to shape up.

Lacson warned telcos about the President’s track record in prodding people of companies to shape up.

’This kind of "threat" worked in the past: Mighty’s P40-billion tax settlement; Philippine Airlines' settling a P6-billion obligation to the government; the Mile Long property taken over by government; and the rehabilitation of Boracay, to name a few cases that did not need to undergo lengthy and expensive court litigations,” stated Lacson.

 ‘’Whether the government takeover of telcos is justified and compliant with the provisions of the Constitution, given the circumstances, is another matter altogether, however,” added Lacson.

Lacson however noticed one thing which the president may have failed to address.

‘’But what the President failed to issue is a similar warning to some local government unit (LGU) executives who extort money from the telcos in exchange for permits and licenses as well as "protection" from delays in the construction of such facilities, especially in areas where the presence of armed groups like the CPP-NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army) is strong,’’ said Lacson.