Telecommunications in the Philippines are well-developed due to the presence of modern infrastructure facilities. The industry was deregulated in 1995 when President Fidel Ramos signed Republic Act No. 7925. This law opened the sector to more private players and improved the provision of telecom services are better and fairer rates, leading to the creation of many telecommunication service providers for mobile, fixed-line, Internet and other services.
San Miguel Corporation, abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally founded in 1890, San Miguel has ventured beyond its core business, with investments in various sectors such as food and drink, finance, infrastructure, oil and energy, transportation, and real estate.
Globe Telecom, Inc., commonly shortened as Globe, is a major provider of telecommunications services in the Philippines. The company operates the largest mobile network in the Philippines and one of the largest fixed-line and broadband networks. As of November 2023, Globe has 54.7 million subscribers, making it the second largest network in terms of subscriber base.
PLDT, Inc., formerly known as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, is a Philippine telecommunications, internet and digital service company.
Smart Communications Inc., commonly referred to as Smart, is a wholly owned wireless communications and digital services subsidiary of PLDT Inc., a telecommunications and digital services provider based in the Philippines. As of November 2023, it is currently the largest mobile network with 55.2 million subscribers.
Telephone numbers in the Philippines follow an open telephone numbering plan and an open dial plan. Both plans are regulated by the National Telecommunications Commission, an attached agency under the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
Internet in the Philippines first became available on March 29, 1994, 10:18 a.m., with the Philippine Network Foundation (PHNet) connecting the country and its people to Sprint in the United States via a 64 kbit/s link. As of February 2023, there are 85.16 million internet users in the country, where internet penetration stood at 73.1% of the total population.
Red Mobile, formerly ümobile and legally as Connectivity Unlimited Resource Enterprise, Inc. (CURE), was a wholly owned subsidiary of Smart Communications, the Philippines' largest mobile telecommunications company. When it was initially launched as ümobile, it used the CURE Universal Mobile Telecommunications System network. At that time, it offered its services through an invitation-based, ad-supported platform, catering to middle and upper-class subscribers between the ages of 15 and 35, devoting its services to that demographic. After re-branding, both the ad-supported revenue platform and invitation system were scrapped in favor of a more traditional marketing and revenue-generating approach. In March 2010, Red Mobile started promoting its unlimited service offerings. However, subscribers started reporting on online social networks that the CURE UMTS network has since been converted to a GSM network. It closed in July 2012.
The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) is a quasi-judicial government agency of the Philippines whose primary mandate is to recover the ill-gotten wealth accumulated by Ferdinand Marcos, his immediate family, relatives, subordinates and close associates, whether located in the Philippines or abroad. It was created by President Corazon Aquino shortly after she was sworn in as president in the aftermath of the 1986 People Power revolution. In addition to recovering the Marcos wealth, it is also tasked with investigating other cases of graft and corruption; and instituting of corruption prevention measures.
The Coco Levy Fund Scam was a controversy in the 1970s and 1980s in the Philippines involving former President Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies. It was alleged that Marcos, Danding Cojuangco, Juan Ponce Enrile, and others conspired to tax coconut farmers, promising them the development of the coconut industry and a share of the investments, but on the contrary used the collection fund for personal profit, particularly in the purchase of United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) and a majority stake in San Miguel Corporation (SMC), to name two.
Roberto Velayo Ongpin was a Filipino businessman who served as the Minister of Commerce and Industry during the Marcos administration. His younger brother Jaime served as the Minister of Finance of the Philippines under Marcos's successor, President Corazon Aquino.
Vega Telecom Inc. is a Filipino telecommunications company jointly owned by Globe Telecom and PLDT. It was established as a holding company of San Miguel Corporation for its various telecommunications investments. In separate statements on May 30, 2016, Globe Telecom and PLDT each acquired half of Vega Telecom from San Miguel Corporation for P69.1 billion. The acquisition entailed P52.08 billion for 100% equity interest in Vega Telecom and the assumption of around P17.02 billion of liabilities. The deal was closed in May 30, 2017.
Philippine Communications Satellite Corporation (PHILCOMSAT) is a telecommunications company based in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. Its main teleport is in the province of Rizal.
The term "Marcos mansions" refers to at least 50 upscale residences in the Philippines of the family of President Ferdinand Marcos. These are aside from the various overseas landholdings of the Marcos family, which are spread around the world. The Supreme Court of the Philippines considers these landholdings as part of the "ill-gotten wealth" of the Marcos family, based on the definitions set forth in Republic Act No. 1379, which had been passed in 1955.
Rodolfo Cuenca, sometimes known by his nickname, Rudy Cuenca, was a Filipino businessman best known as the chairman of the Construction and Development Corporation of the Philippines (CDCP), which is known today as the Philippine National Construction Corporation. He was a close associate of Ferdinand Marcos, and was noted not to be embarrassed by "his much-criticized close association with Marcos and his being tagged as a crony."
Certain associates of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, historically referred to using the catchphrase "Marcos cronies", benefited from their friendship with Marcos – whether in terms of legal assistance, political favors, or facilitation of business monopolies, during his administration. Marcos critics, and the local and international press began referring to these individuals as "cronies" during the latter days of the Marcos dictatorship, and the Philippine government – especially the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) – continued using the term after the ouster of Marcos in 1986.
A bidding was held in November 2018 to determine the prospective third major telecommunications service provider in the Philippines which is meant by the Philippine government to compete with the existing duopoly of PLDT, Inc.–Smart Communications and Globe Telecom.
Udenna Corporation operates as a holding company. The Company distributes and retails petroleum products and lubricants, engages in shipping and logistics services, operates in property development, education, food, gaming, tourism, infrastructure and telecommunications sectors in Philippines.
The overseas landholdings of the Marcos family, which the Philippine government and the United Nations System's Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative consider part of the $5 billion to $13 billion "ill-gotten wealth" of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, are said to be distributed worldwide in places including California, Washington, New York, Rome, Vienna, Australia, Antilles, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Singapore. These are aside from the fifty-or-so Marcos mansions acquired by the Marcos family within the Philippines itself.
Dito CME Holdings Corporation is a Filipino conglomerate holding firm. Formed in 1925, the company primarily engages in telecommunications and information technology infrastructure.
