With China’s entry into telco fray, PH to beef up cybersecurity

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / JOAN BONDOC

The government is beefing up national cybersecurity ahead of the expected entry of China’s biggest telecommunications company next year, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday.

In a recent Cabinet meeting, Roque said President Duterte directed Information and Communications Technology Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. to protect the country’s cybersecurity.

“Well, they shouldn’t worry because government is already worried,” Roque told reporters after senators expressed concern the entry of state-owned China Telecom would later pose a cybersecurity threat.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Senators Panfilo Lacson and Leila de Lima urged the Palace to be wary of China Telecom, citing security concerns.

“We need competition but we should be conscious that we should make sure that our national security is addressed carefully,” Drilon said.

Drilon said the entry of a Chinese company into the telecom industry was a “welcome development” but he asked the need to “exercise caution and (for) the government (to) look into the security aspect of this undertaking.”

“The Chinese companies are state-owned while those operating in the Philippines are purely private. The Chinese government is already an investor in our national grid. The government should look into this matter,” Drilon said.

But regulators have been ordered to take all measures to protect the country’s cybersecurity, Roque added.

“In the last Cabinet meeting, Secretary Rio reported on the steps taken on the third telco [and] the marching order really is to ensure the country’s cybersecurity,” Roque said.

Rio had promised “absolute transparency” in the process, Roque said.

Moreover, Roque said the Chinese firm would be legally required to partner with a local telco that already had an existing legislative franchise from Congress.

“I think, the fact that they’re only entitled to minority shares would mean they would have to partner with a Philippine corporation with an existing franchise,” he said.

Last month, Philippine Telegraph & Telephone Corp., recently acquired by a group led by businessmen Lucio Tan Jr., Salvador Zamora II and Benjamin Bitanga, said it was talking with China Telecom, China Mobile Ltd. and other Chinese companies.

But China Telecom said it still had no concrete plan to invest in the Philippines although it was conducting a preliminary study.

The Duterte administration has been trying to warm up relations with China and has set aside a territorial spat in the South China Sea to tap Beijing for loans, investments, expertise and trade.

Duterte last month offered Beijing a chance to challenge the dominant carriers Smart-PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. to boost the service quality of current players.

He wants a third telecoms player to start operations in the first quarter next year, to break the duopoly and boost competition.

Beijing has chosen China Telecom, which needs to partner with a Philippine company because of a 40-percent cap on foreign ownership of domestic telecoms firms.

PLDT and Globe declined to comment on Thursday but PLDT announced it had allotted a record sum of at least P50 billion for capital expenses next year as it prepared to take on a competitor.