Subject: [NEXTEL-1] House probe into Nextel shows executives don’t have work permits and are working illegally.

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 01:08:00 -0400

And This Is The Company  Who Wants To Support "Homeland Security"?

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

House probe into Nextel shows executives don’t have work permits and are working
illegally.
By Maricel V. Cruz, Reporter

THE Bureau of Immigration said on Tuesday that four of the top foreign executives
of the trunk radio service provider Nextel Philippines (Nextel) do not have the
required permits to work in the Philippines.

This cropped up in Tuesday’s hearing of the House Committee on Transportation and
Communications where immigration’s executive director, Roy Almoro, told the panel
that John J. Jones IV, Nextel president for Asia and the Pacific, failed to secure
a working permit from the bureau.

“Mr. Jones does not have a working permit from the [bureau]. He has only an EO 21
status, meaning he is only considered a tourist,” Almoro said.

He explained that the EO 21 visa expires after 21 days and that it can be extended
for six months. After that, the bearer of the visa should apply for a 9-G
commercial visa applicable for foreigners working in the country, Almoro said.

Besides Jones, the foreign executives who are “working illegally” in the country
were Robert Harmon, Nextel’s business development director in Asia; Lo Van Gemert,
Nextel’s president and chief operating officer; and Patrick Leach, head of the
company’s human resources department.

Rep. Eduardo Veloso of Leyte, who presided over the panel, said they are inviting
these officials to explain why they failed to get the necessary permits to operate
in the country.

“If they fail to show up during congressional investigations, then that could mean
an admission of guilt. They will face deportation,” Veloso said in an interview.

Veloso said they expect these executives to testify in the hearing scheduled in
September.
For his part, Rep. Prospero Nograles of Davao City criticized the immigration
bureau for its failure to monitor the validity of the foreigners’ visas.

The hearing is looking into the questionable ownership of Nextel, which is said to
be in violation of the Constitution.
Nograles had earlier filed House Resolution 1076 asking the committee to look into
the 59.1-percent American stake in the telecommunications firm.

Article XI of the Constitution stipulates that enfranchised corporations be owned
60 percent by Filipino citizens and only 40 percent by foreigners.

Nextel was launched in 1996 after US-based Nextel International Inc. entered the
country’s telecommunications industry through “corporate layering.”

Nextel was alleged to have purchased Top Mega, a Hong Kong-registered company
holding a 30-percent interest in Infocom Network Inc., a Philippine
telecommunications carrier. Another foreign-registered company called Joyce Link
owned 10 percent of the local Nextel’s equity.

The remaining 60 percent were to have been divided among Filipino shareholders–the
Gotesco Group owned by Jose Go, Jetcom Inc. by Bernard Asperin and Food Camp
Industries represented by Johnny Wong, among others.
Nograles, in filing his resolution, said that Nextel used dummy corporations to
acquire all the companies’ Filipino shareholdings.

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2003/aug/27/metro/20030827met5.html

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