NTC revenue spiked up in September

MANILA, Philippines—Revenues of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) at the end of September reached a record P4.14 billion, boosting officials’ expectations that the agency would break new ground in terms of earnings this year.

The figure was higher than the P3.93-billion target set for the NTC.

“The increase in revenue came from the NTC’s concerted efforts to strictly enforce stakeholders’ compliance in remitting administrative fees,” the regulator said in a recent statement.

Stakeholders regulated by the NTC include cable and commercial television operators, broadcast radio stations, telecommunications companies and two-way radio operators.

The NTC said it was able to attain the figure without having to increase rates or levy new fees.

The NTC issued the statement following an Inquirer report that the regulator granted a P70-million discount in fees to bankrupt Philippine Telegraph and Telephone Corp., which went belly up after failing to adapt to cellular technology two decades ago.

According to the report that appeared in the Inquirer’s Biz Buzz section, PT&T amassed supervision and regulatory fees amounting to P207.244 million. But the NTC’s legal officer reportedly slashed this to P137.137 million without securing the commission’s approval. The Commission on Audit questioned the deal in its report in February.

The NTC statement made no mention of the Biz Buzz report.—Paolo G. Montecillo