(Eagle News) — The Senate on Wednesday, Feb. 6, approved the transfer of ownership of Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co. Inc. (Mislatel Inc.) to its partners in the consortium that was named the third telecommunications player in the country.
Only three senators–Senator Panfilo Lacson, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Senator Risa Hontiveros—voted against making Mislatel Consortium–composed of Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp., China Telecommunications Corp. and Chelsea logistics Holdings Corp.—the owner of Mislatel Inc.
Drilon had argued against the transfer, saying Mislatel Inc. itself violated some provisions of the franchise granted to it under Republic Act 8627 when, among others, it failed to start operations within a year after it was given its license in the 1990s.
As such, Drilon said the Mislatel Inc. franchise should be deemed void ipso facto in the first place.
Earlier, Senator Grace Poe said there was a need for Congress to “approve the ‘transfer, sale, or assignment of the controlling interest of Mindanao Islamic Telephone Inc. due to the capital infusion of the Mislatel Group into Mislatel itself.”
