MANILA, Philippines — The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) should answer the questions raised by an information and communications technology advocacy group regarding its technical audit of Dito Telecommunity, Senator Risa Hontiveros said.
“The NTC should answer the questions raised by advocacy groups regarding its technical audit of Dito. If the agency will not be able to do so, it will only add to the public’s suspicion that it may be at the behest of the China-backed third telco. Hawak sa leeg din ba ng Tsina ang sarili nating ahensiya (Is China also holding our own agency by its neck)?” Hontiveros said in a statement Thursday.
The senator issued the call after Democracy.Net.Ph found deficiencies in Dito’s first network audit last February and urged the NTC to plug those gaps in the company’s upcoming review this July.
In a Senate public services hearing on Wednesday, Democracy.Net.Ph cofounder Engr. Pierre Galla said the NTC allowed the sampling of a limited number of barangays, which he noted was not the intention of stakeholders when they crafted the original terms of reference prior to the bidding for the third major telco slot in 2018.
Instead of testing more than 8,800 barangays meant to prove that the firm met its first year promise to cover 37 percent of the country’s population, Galla said the NTC allowed the sampling of just 2,671 barangays.
“Has undue partiality really been shown to Dito during both the bidding and the audit process? Under this administration, a declared ally of the Chinese regime, could Dito have lost the bidding and is there really a chance it will not pass this audit?
“There are more questions that need to be answered: Has undue partiality really been shown to Dito during both the bidding and the audit process?” Hontiveros went on.
“Under this administration, a declared ally of the Chinese regime, could Dito have lost the bidding and is there really a chance it will not pass this audit?” she added.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the committee approved Dito’s franchise renewal, which has to first go through plenary approval before it can be transmitted to the president for his signature.
The company holds a congressional franchise via Mindanao Islamic Telephone Co., which is set to expire in 2023.
National security concerns have earlier been raised concerning Dito since state-run China Telecom has a 40-percent stake in the company.
The telco has since dismissed fears of possible Chinese espionage, stressing that it is a company run by Filipinos.