DITO Telecommunity Corp. rejected claims of potential national security risks from its plan to build cell sites inside military camps.
“On the issue of the memorandum of agreement signed by DITO Telelcommunity with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, let me take this opportunity to reiterate that this agreement contained the very same provisions signed by the other two telcos. Unlike the agreements with these other telcos, ours contained additional provisions pertaining to the commitments of DITO to national security,” DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said.
DITO’s statement came after Senator Risa Hontiveros raised concerns over the security risks that may arise from China Telecom’s stake in DITO.
Tamano assured that DITO’s devices, equipment and structures would not be used to obtain classified information from the Armed Forces.
“May we further state that, as part of the new major player selection process, we submitted our cybersecurity plan during the bidding process to prove that the DITO network and facilities will not compromise national security and shall abide with the National Cybersecurity Plan,” he said.
“This plan has been accepted by no less than the Department of Information and Communication Technology and the National Security Advisor,” Tamano said.
He said that as the final item on the list of requirements for compliance with the National Cybersecurity Plan, DITO established its network and security operations center.
“We respectfully extend our invitation to Senator Hontiveros and members of the Senate committee to schedule a visit to our Network and Security Operations Center for a live demonstration of our capabilities,” Tamano said.
“Let me reassure the public that we in DITO are true partners in nation building and that we remain steadfast in our commitment to provide world-class telecommunications services that the Filipino people truly deserve,” he said.
Tamano said the company is looking forward to March 2021 for commercial launch.
