PSE Circular for Brokers No. 523-00

March 1, 2000 PSE CIRCULAR FOR BROKERS NO. 523-00 February 29, 2000 Disclosure Department Listing and Disclosure Group 4/F, Philippine Stock Exchange Center PSE Center, Exchange Road Ortigas Center, Pasig City Fax No: 636-0809/634-2051 Attention: Ms. Grace B. De Guia Asst. Manager Gentlemen : Further to our letter yesterday regarding the news article, "APC files P150-M suit vs. Ongpin Group", we are submitting herewith a statement from Mr. Roberto V. Ongpin, Chairman of PhilWeb.Com, Inc., for a more detailed disclosure on this matter. Very truly yours, (SGD.) ROBERTO V. SAN JOSE Corporate Information Officer Roberto V. Ongpin, Chairman of PhilWeb.Com, reacting to the APC suit against him for P150 million, said he will counter-sue APC for P300 million for inventing malicious and totally baseless claims against him. "How can I steal something which belonged to me to begin with?" Ongpin asked. "The concept of a pure internet play focused on the Philippines, which is what PhilWeb is, was mine from the start. For APC to lay claim that I stole the concept from them is ludicrous since they have no clue whatsoever of how to establish, much less run, an internet business. There are over 200 companies in the country today in the internet business and yet, APC sounds like they are entitled to a monopoly of the internet business. It just goes to show how little APC knows about internet," Ongpin said. "Anybody can have an internet business plan and internet companies sprout like mushrooms everyday. What is important is the ability to turn plans into reality. This involves not only technical knowhow but market credibility as well. Additionally, international contacts with and access to leading internet companies in the world are absolutely necessary. PhilWeb, with a series of completed deals in just 5 weeks of its launch, has amply demonstrated this ability. I challenge anyone in APC to demonstrate what they can do and who they know in the internet world," Ongpin said PhilWeb's basic business is broadband internet access via satellite. At no time did PhilCom, whose main asset involves submarine cables, ever have a business or even a business plan based on broadband access via satellite. It is ironic that APC now bemoans Alex Villamar's resignation from PhilCom. For many months after Ongpin's illegal ouster from Belle and APC, Mr. Villamar tried many times to convince Belle and APC to re-engineer PhilCom as an internet company. "My proposals regarding opportunities in the internet were clearly over their head and this is one of the reasons I resigned, as I clearly stated in my resignation letter dated January 10, 2000," Villamar said. As to PhilWeb "pirating" PhilCom staff, Ongpin said "we are after all a free country and anyone can resign from a company and work for whoever one pleases. It is a well known fact that PhilCom is in a precarious financial condition and in fact, some creditors have already declared it in default. After my illegal ouster from Belle and APC, the Banks have refused to approve the financial restructuring program for PhilCom. If you were a PhilCom employee, wouldn't you wish to leave an obviously floundering company to join what is clearly a dynamic company, with clear vision and proven market credibility?" Ongpin asked. prcd