Globe Telecom attacked the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) for reviewing the operator’s joint buyout with PLDT of potential rival San Miguel.

In a strongly worded statement, Globe accused the PCC of “changing the rules suddenly in the middle of a game and acting on it whimsically.”

This is the latest move by the two dominant operators to turn up pressure on the regulator.

Globe complained the watchdog is treating the proposed acquisition with PLDT, announced on 30 May, differently from other deals.

Globe said it followed PCC rules and so its acquisition should be “deemed approved”, but the regulator reserves the right to review the deal under the country’s fair competition law.

A week ago the two operators took the matter to court, asking the country’s Court of Appeals to stop the PCC from reviewing the deal.

The two have a 99 per cent market share of Philippine mobile connections and will pay a total of PHP52.8 billion ($1.13 billion) for San Miguel, which includes valuable 700MHz spectrum.