PLDT Inc. on Wednesday, December 21, said it has "not unearthed fraudulent activities" in relation to the P48 billion capital expenditure overrun that the telco reported last week.
The telco's "business and the outlook for the business continue to remain healthy".
However, PLDT is "cooperating and will continue to cooperate fully with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and the Capital Markets Integrity Corporation (CMIC) in relation to their inquiry into PLDT’s elevated capex spend,” the telco said.
The three entities are also investigating the trading activities on PLDT shares just before the telco filed its capex overrun disclosure with the PSE last Friday, Dec. 16.
PLDT has responded to separate requests for clarifications and answers from SEC and PSE, and will continue to respond promptly to any further requests.
The telco is also gathering all the information requested by CMIC.
As a listed company, PLDT has an obligation to make timely disclosures.
"Even as there were rumors circulating about PLDT in the public domain, PLDT needed to understand the range of issues involved and the extent of the matter,” the company said.
"Until this information is complete, any announcement would have been premature to the detriment of the public shareholders," PLDT maintained.
"Last Friday’s disclosure was done not one day sooner because PLDT needed time to conduct its investigation of the contracts and expenditures involved as well as to meet its major vendors for reconciliation of outstanding amounts and project status," the telco said.