SLaM (Samahan Laban sa Monopolyo) advocates consumer rights against monopolies, thus it aims to convene and inform people and groups in people's forums and to form alliances to inform more people.
What we do
SLaM (Samahan Laban sa Monopolyo) aims to make people aware of their basic human freedom to choose and basic human right to choice. In an authentic free society, a free market provides people a choice and with it the freedom to make their choice.
SLaM is an active advocate of consumer rights and benefits, thus is against monopolies and its similar forms (e.g. cartel, group of companies, consortiums, conglomerates, etc.), particularly those engaged in public services and utilities.
SLaM convenes people and groups by organizing people's forums and informing them of the evils of monopolies in society, to the economy, and the general consumers. SLaM has a website, a blog site, and social network accounts in Facebook and Twitter that serve as repository of relevant information, news, comments, and reactions posted for and by interested people and groups.
SLaM seeks to form an alliance with people and groups, for them to echo these forums to their members or people in their locale. Should these lead to action together with other people and groups, SLaM would be in full support.
SLaM demands, for the sake of the people, the dismantling of monopolies that curtails or takes away the right of the people to choose.
SLaM envisions, for the sake of the people, the legislation of anti-monopoly laws that will protect and uphold public interest over corporate greed.
SlaM seeks, for the sake of the people, a government that can implement these anti-monopoly laws for the benefit of people.
Our Stand
Throughout various sectors of the Philippine economy today, a phenomenon is unfolding that many people notice but tend to ignore or dismiss as nothing but an inescapable fact of economic life.
One sees aspects of it happening in, for example, the retail sector, more specifically in the supermarket section of certain malls where products are routinely repacked, rebranded and resold at mall-set prices. The repacked items are marketed as more affordable alternatives but consumers cannot really be sure: the original supplier price is unknown and could be just as cheap or even cheaper, with the mall possibly marking up the retail price by a few more centavos or pesos.
It's an open secret that suppliers don't mind having their products repacked and rebranded for as long as they get guaranteed business and outlets for their products. The practice has a double negative effect: on consumers who are robbed of the right to choose products based on real prices and quality, and on small businesses who are boxed out of the mall supply chain on account of their not being able to abide by mall rules on supply exclusivity (“you can't supply us if you're also supplying our competitors”) or not having enough “rope” to cope with mall-imposed payment terms on their deliveries.
The phenomenon can also be observed in the bigger strategic sectors such as the airline and shipping industries where it has been long-established reality.
Read our Executive Summary
Read the full length position paper
Ang Laban Ngayon : Anti-Monopoly in Telecommunication
SLaM launches its advocacy in the light of the most obvious monopoly that affects nine out of 10 Filipinos today, the monopoly in the telecommunications industry in the Philippines. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT)-Smart Communications has merged with Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc.-Sun Cellular to effectively control 84% of the telecommunication frequencies of the country. The telecommunication frequency is a limited public resource that is supposedly strictly regulated by the government, to serve and benefit the people, more than the corporate interests.
With such dominance, PLDT can eventually force all competition out of the playing field and become the sole holder of all telecom frequencies in the Philippines. Because of the absence of competition and market pressure to its products and services, this emerging monopoly of PLDT-Smart and Digitel-Sun will bring nightmare to consumers just like in the old days of PLDT monopoly during the Marcos regime.
SLaM demands that the government, particularly the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), correct this monopoly by regulating PLDT's access to the telecom frequencies to less than 50% of this public domain. This would open the remaining pie to other market players and re-establish a fair market to ultimately benefit the interest of the consumers.
SLaM demands that the government, particularly the NTC, effectively implement full, authentic interconnection among all telecom service providers. Without such interconnection, PLDT employs monopolistic control over competitors to the detriment of the general consumer.
SLaM calls on the people to participate in a united call to action. This call to action loudly asserts that true, authentic power and authority comes from the people and is accorded by the people to whomever they freely choose.
Where To Find Us
SLaM (Samahan Laban sa Monopolyo)Unit 203, Bldg A, Almanza Metropolis
Manila Doctors Village St., Almanza, Las Piñas City
SLaM Convenor Jess Sandow, call or text 632.7819227
SLaM HQ, call or text 632.781891
Recent Events
Slam Hour
An hourlong boycott by turning off of cell phones and not making any calls or sending any text messages can be our best way to make our voices be heard.
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News
06.11.2011
Senate hearing on telecoms hit.
A nationwide anti-monopoly organization Saturday slammed senators who conducted recently a hearing on the PLDT-Digitel deal "more for its media value than to really resolve the issue" even as a party-list representative said he will review the anti-trust resolution now pending in the Senate.
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05.15.2011
Globe opposes PLDT-Digitel merger.
GLOBE Telecom on Friday reiterated its opposition to Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company's (PLDT) acquisition of Gokongwei-owned Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel).
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04.12.2011
AT&T, T-Mobile Deal Faces Pushback.
Congress should take a long and hard look at AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of rival T-Mobile, the publishers of Consumer Reports urged.
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Blog Posts
07.26.2011
India Minister Resigns Over Telecom Inquiry.
An interesting read ...
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07.26.2011
At least three factors that can create a telecom monopoly.
In discussions on the imminent buyout of Digitel by Smart (incidentally taking place simultaneously but independently with a similar buyout also involving telecom firms in California), it would seem that the victims of a resulting monopoly are only those companies cut out from the deals, which would be Globe in the Philippines, and reportedly Sprint in California.
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07.24.2011
Monopolyo sa Telekomunikasyon - Tutulan! Labanan!.
Matatandaang binili ng Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) ang kumpanyang Digitel na may-ari ng Sun Cellular at kasalukuyang dinidinig sa tanggapan ng National Telecommunications Commissions (NTC).
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