Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III has been quoted by some news organizations as saying that he has sought the help of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into allegations that “many” of the 38 service contractors recently sanctioned by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for engaging in labor-only contracting for PLDT are either owned or managed by “high ranking” officials of PLDT.

These allegations are baseless and fabricated. The service contractors engaged by PLDT are bona fide corporations properly registered with the DOLE and the SEC. They are legitimately providing services to many other companies aside from PLDT. None of these are owned or managed by PLDT officials. PLDT welcomes an investigation into this allegation as the Company has nothing to hide.