Corporate Social Responsibility of Pldt

A. Introduction

PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone), being the largest telecommunications company in the country was founded on November 28, 1928. It was after a strong typhoon that paved way for the birth of the corporation. “The first president of PLDT was Theodore Vail Halsey while Major J.E. Hamilton Stevenot, who represented the American firm General Telephone and Electronics Corp. (GTE), was elected executive vice president and general manager.” (Pldt.com.ph, 2014) Having been under its American owners, PLDT was able to acquire many small mobile companies that help speed up the phone systems all throughout the country. As they continue to expand through the years, on March 24, 2000 Smart was acquired as a 100% owned PLDT subsidiary.

In the Philippines, there had been prior anticipations regarding liberalizations in the telecommunication industry. Hence, it is safe to say that the birth of Smart telecom absolutely came in perfect timing. It was formerly known as Smart Information Technology Inc. and Orlando B. Vea and David T. Fernando incorporated it in January 24, 1991. In 1993, Smart began to draw into partnerships with other companies such as First Pacific (Hong Kong), Metro Pacific Investments Corporation and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (Japan).

“In compliance with the government’s telecommunications program, Smart established a local exchange service in the cities and provinces assigned to it under the “service area scheme.” The Company also obtained licenses to provide international gateway, paging and inter-carrier transmission services.” (Wikimapia.org, 2014)

Today, Smart stands as the country’s leading service provider with over 52 million loyal subscribers on its GSM network. Together with its wholly earned subsidiary, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), the companies work hand in hand to be able to provide nationwide cellular networks, broadband services, satellite phone services and mobile commerce services....