Dominguez bats for effective telco industry regulations

“We have to go down basic issues on the industry,” Dominguez said (File Photo: Department of Finance)

MANILA — Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said a strong regulatory environment over the telecommunications industry must first be established before government awards frequencies to a third telco player.

“We have to go down to basic issues on the industry,” Dominguez said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum Wednesday.

These regulatory issues pertain to interconnection charges, access to towers, access to dark fiber, and frequencies.

The finance chief said the issues on interconnection charges have been addressed and he is thankful for this.

He said ensuring the charges are reasonable is a must to protect the public. “What the public is getting here is below, inferior to what the public is getting elsewhere,” he said, adding that having a third telco player is not the problem but ensuring a better, more affordable, faster, more accurate, and more coverage access to communication.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) recently released the draft rules for the selection of another major telco player, a process which DICT acting chief Eliseo Rio Jr. hopes to be completed this year.

Meanwhile, Dominguez said it is just right for President Rodrigo Duterte to take a break from his official duties, noting that even US presidents are known to do this.

He said a one-week vacation is good but a two-week rest is better. “That guy is 73 years old. He has been working non-stop for two years,” he said, noting that he understands why the President expressed exasperation and said he is tired of fighting corruption.

Normally, the President goes back to Davao on weekends but Dominguez, a long-time friend of the Chief Executive, said “he is engaged there.”

“Everybody needs a break,” he added.