President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered government regulatory agencies to speed up the entry of China Telecom, saying the Chinese firm should be operating in 90 days or less. If the permits are not issued within seven days, the permits are deemed approved,” Duterte added. Palace spokesperson Harry Roque said rushing the entry of China Telecom is not a haphazard decision but a matter of necessity. The $329 million National Broadband Network (NBN) project with Chinese firm ZTE was cancelled by then President Gloria Arroyo in 2007 on overpricing allegations. Another derailed project with a Chinese firm was the Northrail project, which was supposed to connect Caloocan City to Bulacan but was shelved due to alleged irregularities in the contract.

Source: Manila Times December 19, 2017 16:12 UTC