How NOW Corporation’s bid to become a third telco unraveled into regulatory trouble

NOW once aimed to become the country’s next largest telco player but currently faces billions in fines for unsupervised operations and misleading investor disclosures.

NOW Corporation, owned by former SkyCable executive Mel Velarde, is facing multiple fines tied to improper business practices. Only a few years ago, the company was positioning itself as a challenger to the country’s long-standing telco duopoly.

Velarde and the company have been fined ₱1 million each after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled that a key market disclosure misled investors and distorted trading decisions.

A new challenger to the telco duopoly

In 2018, the government opened a bidding process for a new telecommunications provider. NOW threw its hat in the ring, but criticized the billions of pesos required by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to participate, calling the fees a “money-making scheme.”

The NTC required at least ₱15 billion in total to participate, which covered:

• ₱700 million participation security
• ₱14 billion to ₱24 billion performance security
• ₱10 million non-refundable appeal fee

NOW took the NTC to the Manila Regional Trial Court to contest the necessity of the fees, arguing that these requirements amounted to barriers to entry. The RTC junked the case in November 2018, declaring the grounds moot since NOW still planned to bid and had the capacity to participate anyway.

The company immediately challenged the decision before the Court of Appeals (CA), but the appellate court also junked the case in November 2021 after noting that the frequency NOW bid had already been awarded to DITO Telecommunity in 2020.

NOW expressed willingness to collaborate with DITO once it was awarded the bid. The dispute, however, did not end with the failed challenge.

NTC fights back

Shortly after the CA ruling, the NTC filed a case before the Supreme Court (SC) ordering NOW to pay penalties for operating without supervision, along with late fees, amounting to ₱2.6 billion.

NOW later filed a since-removed disclosure with the Philippine Stock Exchange in November 2021 clarifying an ABS-CBN News report on the SC case. The company denied any involvement and said it had “no knowledge of [its] specific details.”

This disclosure later became the subject of a penalty issued by the SEC dated December 16, 2025. The SEC charged NOW and Velarde with ₱1 million fines each for misleading investors through what it described as an erroneous disclosure. The regulator is also probing the possible involvement of other board members.

What lies ahead for NOW

NOW said it plans to file an appeal before the CA contesting the SEC penalty. The company argues that because the NTC case has yet to reach finality, no additional interest or penalties, including the SEC fine, can be imposed on the existing amount.

At present, NOW operates primarily as a business-to-business internet service provider.

 

 

NOW threw its hat in the ring but criticized the billions of pesos required by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to participate, calling the fees a “money-making scheme.”

 

 

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