NOW Cable, Inc. (NCI) and partner News and Entertainment Network Corp. (News net) early today fired another salvo against the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), further spicing up the long-running "telco wars" in the country.
Newsnet and NCI filed cases against several officials of the NTC before the Ombudsman on allegations of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
NCI and Newsnet sought the Ombudsman and alleged that the NTC officials violated some provisions in the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in the performance of their duties under the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
In its complaint before the Ombusdman, Newsnet and NCI alleged that the respondents' "act of intentionally delaying the processing of permits, licenses and other authorizations" of the Complainant, "with the end goal of disenfranchising complainant…" and ultimately awarding it to other favored telecommunications and media companies violates Section 3 (E) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Respondents appear to have interfered and blocked private transactions involving multi-billion pesos by unjustly and unfairly denying/delaying assignment of frequencies, and if they already possess frequencies, by recalling frequencies, added the NCI and Newsnet complaint.