DITO Reiterates Support for National Security, Assures Public on National Security Concerns

DITO Telecommunity guarantees the public about the safety and security of their services, denying that they are a threat to national security.

The 3rd telecommunications company in the Philippines gave their side of the story following the reports that they might compromise the country’s security.

“May we further remind everyone that as part of the New Major Player selection process, we have submitted our cybersecurity plan during the bidding process to prove that our networks and facilities will not compromise national security and shall abide with the National Cybersecurity Plan,” said Retired Major General Rodolfo, DITO Chief Technology Officer.

According to DITO, they already signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which was also signed by the 2 existing telecoms stating the provisions and commitment to national security.

The plan however, was accepted by the National Security Advisor and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

Meanwhile, DITO Telecommunity Chief Administrative Officer Atty. Adel Tamano clarified that DITO is a Filipino-owned and managed company, he also said that they committed to invest P250 billion to boost the country’s telco industry.

“DITO Telecommunity is, first and foremost, a Filipino-owned and managed company and will always look after the interests of the Filipino people,” said Atty. Tamano

Formerly Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, Inc. (MISLATEL), DITO Telecommunity is the 3rd major player in the telecom industry.

DITO Telecommunity is currently made up of Filipino and Chinese counterparts. As of February 2019, the Filipino ownership of DITO comprises of Udenna Corporation with 35% ownership, and Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp with 25%.

Meanwhile, China Telecommunications Corporation (China Telecom), a corporation owned by the Chinese government, owns 40% of DITO Telecommunity. China Telecom will also be the one to put up and maintain the network infrastructure of DITO.

Netizens show their dismay that this move might put the country’s national security at risk.

This comes as China is currently facing issues regarding data privacy, most recently with Huawei and Tiktok. (MLC)