Beautifully engraved certificate from the Philippine Long Distance issued in 1969-73. This historic document was printed by the American Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an allegorical woman sitting between two globes and an old dial phone on the company's corporate seal. This item has the printed signatures of the Company's President and Secretary and is over 29 years old.
Certificate Vignette This is the country's principal supplier of domestic and international telecommunications services. The Company's charter, which extends until 2028, authorizes it to provide virtually every type of telecommunications service. The Philippines is well-known for its political instability: from the people power revolution that toppled the authoritarian Marcos regime in 1986 to the "State of Rebellion" that followed current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's ousting of President Joseph Estrada amid corruption charges this year. In addition, the islands' rebel groups have developed a reputation for kidnapping the wealthy, particularly tourists, and holding them for ransom. The most well-known of these groups is the Abu Sayyaf, Muslim separatists who operate out the country's south. The Abu Sayyaf have killed their hostages when their demands were not met -- in 2001, they claim to have beheaded an American tourist. The group has had close ties with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.