By Argyll Cyrus B. Geducos
Malacañang said the deadline for the entry of the third telecommunications company in the country may eventually be extended due to the lack of bidders even without the approval of President Duterte.
Department of Information and Communications Technology officer-in-charge Secretary Eliseo Rio said in a statement that they are pushing to move the deadline to May as there may not be any bidders if they force President Duterte’s original deadline.
“The request is coming from the contenders themselves. If we force the end of March deadline, there might not be any bidders,” Rio said.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that the President has not approved the new deadline but recent events may make the move necessary.
“Siguro po overtaken na tayo by events. Ang pagkakaintindi ko, OIC Rio has moved the deadlines because it is physically impossible to meet them,” Roque said.
“The President did not approve of the extension pero I think the turn of events will eventually make it necessary to move the deadlines,” he added.
The DICT had set a target to accept bid documents from participating telecommunication companies on March 27 and announce the winning bidder by April 2.