Michelle Ong, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/nation/01/15/balisacan_011516.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Philippine Competition Commission Chairman Arsenio Balisacan. File Photo</div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA (UPDATE) - The Philippine Competition Commission has yet to receive details of the P70 billion deal that will give Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Globe Telecom the telecom assets of San Miguel Corporation, its chairman Arsenio Balisacan said Tuesday.Among the assets the two telcos will assume are frequencies held by San Miguel units, including the coveted 700Mhz.When asked if the deal is &quot;deemed approved&quot; already as earlier claimed by PLDT, Balisacan said that’s not even the issue.“We still have to give the &#x27;deemed approval.&#x27; We haven’t even seen the details yet. It’s hard to say anything yet,&quot; he said.READ: <a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/30/16/pldt-globe-to-acquire-san-miguels-telecom-business">PLDT, Globe to acquire San Miguel&#x27;s telecom business</a>Balisacan said they will have to wait for the release of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Philippine Competition Act due in the second half of June. Only then will they be able to see if all requirements were met in the transaction.The competition czar, however, clarified that bigness is not the issue.&quot;[The] Competition law doesn’t prohibit bigness; in fact, it does not prohibit monopoly or duopoly. What it prohibits is the abuse of dominance. In fact, many of our utilities are by nature natural monopolies,&quot; he said.On Monday, PLDT said that based on the memorandum issued by the competition commission, transactions executed after the circulars and before the release of the IRR, as long as proper notification was given, are “deemed approved.”“No looking back even if the IRR is issued in the future,” explained PLDT’s Atty. Rey Espinosa.Meanwhile, John Forbes of the American Chamber of Commerce said many in the business community were surprised by the deal.&quot;We were hoping there would be more telcos in this space, particularly foreign telcos and we were encouraged by Telstra,&quot; Forbes said.He added that he is surprised to see private companies divide the frequencies among themselves.

MANILA (UPDATE) - The Philippine Competition Commission has yet to receive details of the P70 billion deal that will give Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Globe Telecom the telecom assets of San Miguel Corporation, its chairman Arsenio Balisacan said Tuesday.

PH Competition Commission to study PLDT-Globe-SMC deal

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PH Competition Commission to study PLDT-Globe-SMC deal

Michelle Ong,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 31, 2016 04:21 PM PHT

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Updated May 31, 2016 05:31 PM PHT

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Globe

PLDT

San Miguel

Arsenio Balisacan

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