THE SUPREME COURT has denied the petition of Bayan Telecommunications, Inc. (Bayantel) to suspend the requirement imposed by RA 7925 on telecommunication entities with regulated types of services to offer to the public 30 percent of its aggregate common stocks within five years from the effectivity of said law or the commencement of the entity’s commercial operations, whichever date is later.
     In a decision penned by Senior Associate Justice Leonardo A. Quisumbing, the Court’s Second Division affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals and denied for lack of merit the petition for declaratory relief filed by Bayantel against the Republic of the Philippines and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
     The Court held that the requirements of an action for declaratory relief have not been met as Bayantel was merely anticipating the risk of possible sanctions, which does not, by itself, give rise to a justiciable controversy. It said, “Rep. Act No. 7925 does not provide for a penalty for noncompliance with Section 21, and as correctly pointed out by the Solicitor General, there are yet no implementing rules or guidelines to carry into effect the requirement imposed by the said provision. Whatever sanctions petitioner fears are merely hypothetical.”
     Bayantel had sought to defer the aforesaid requirement imposed by RA 7925 (An Act to Promote and Govern the Development of Philippine Telecommunications and the Delivery of Public Telecommunications Services), claiming that it was not possible for it to make a legitimate public offering at the time of the filing of the petition because its financial situation, the national economy, and the stock market were not favorable for a successful public offering. (Bayan Telecommunications Inc. v. Republic and NTC, GR No. 161140, January 31, 2007)