Arroyo focuses on executives' rights
By Teresa Cerojano
Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines — President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered government officials to do everything within their powers to protect the rights of Filipino executives who were subpoenaed in Hawai'i in connection with an investigation into anticompetitive practices.
U.S. federal agents served subpoenas on the executives while they were attending a telecommunications conference in Honolulu last weekend.
ARROYO
Arroyo instructed officials from the foreign and justice ministries to "exhaust all diplomatic and legal remedies" to protect the rights of the executives, obtain fair treatment and be brought home "as soon as possible," her spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.
At least 20 of the executives have already returned to the Philippines after they testified before a U.S. grand jury, Justice Secretary Merceditas Gutierrez said.
"The entire government machinery is behind this move to be able to address this as soon as possible," Foreign Secretary Delia Albert said after emerging from the meeting with government officials and top executives of involved companies.
The firms are: Philippine Long Distance Telephone company, Globe Telecom, Digitel Telecommunications Philippines Inc., Bayan Telecommunications Inc., Capitol Wireless Inc. and Smart Communications Inc.
They are battling AT&T and MCI International over termination rates, which are paid by domestic carriers to complete calls on the networks of foreign carriers.
Gutierrez said government officials will make representations with concerned U.S. authorities while the lawyers for the Filipino companies work separately on the case.
On Sunday, Albert summoned U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone to complain.
"Up to now, the U.S. government has not addressed the serious concerns we raised with them regarding this case," Albert said.
She said the Philippines was dismayed over the U.S. federal agents' actions because Filipino and U.S. carriers were already trying to settle their dispute.
The Philippine ambassador to Washington, Albert del Rosario, was by quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer as saying Wednesday that the U.S. Justice Department was conducting an independent investigation over the alleged breach of U.S. antitrust law.
He said U.S. investigators were looking into the possibility of collusion among Philippine companies when they raised termination rates by 50 percent to 12 U.S. cents per minute for land-line calls, and by 33 percent to 16 U.S. cents per minute for mobile phone calls.
Termination fees are charged by Philippine firms for servicing calls coming from U.S. carriers. AT&T and MCI International opposed the move.
