President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday that his office would take over the job of choosing the third telecommunications player if the Department of Information and Communications Technology has not come up with any decision by November.

In a tete-a-tete with Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo in Malacanang, Duterte said since early this year, he ordered concerned government agencies to allow a third telco player.

"I will maybe early November, if there's none yet, I'll take over. I will place that under the Office of the President. I will invite all the businessmen and I will decide in front of them who is the (third telco player)," he said.

Duterte said he would ask all those interested to submit their respective position paper.

"By Christmas, the people will already know the third player," he said, stressing that it would go away with the lowest bid.

"I will choose the best, the best track record in the business. I don't like the lowest bid. Lowest bid it always ends up in disaster," he added.

Duterte wants a third player in the telecom industry to improve the services in this sector, which is being dominated by PLDT and Globe Telecom. Celerina Monte/DMS