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China-backed Dito Telecommunity Corp. insisted on Wednesday that planned construction of network infrastructure within the country’s military camps would not be used to collect sensitive data from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
In a statement, the third telecommunications actor chosen by the government stressed that “its devices, equipment and structures will not be used to obtain classified information from the Armed Forces.”
“In response to the allegation that [foreigners] You will be provided access to military camps once they are built [network] installations begin, let’s be clear that the Armed Forces of the Philippines have strict protocols that do not allow [them] to carry out sensitive technical work within the military camps ”, said Dito.
The statement came after security concerns and claims of possible espionage resurfaced after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana signed a memorandum of agreement between AFP and Dito, backed by the Davao city businessman, Dennis Uy, apparently a good friend of President Rodrigo Duterte, who once ran the city as its mayor, and the state-owned China Telecommunications Corp.
The agreement, Dito noted, has the same provisions signed by Globe Telecom Inc. and PLDT Inc.
The company also said it had a cybersecurity plan in place after the government chose it to challenge and break the so-called PLDT-Globe duopoly in November 2018.
The statement also came days after the AFP Officers’ Village in the city of Taguig wanted to confront Dito in a referendum on his plan to build cell towers there.
Most of its residents were reportedly against the plan, prompting local officials to resort to a referendum to resolve the matter.
Previously, Allan Cabanlong, former undersecretary for cybersecurity and enabling technologies in the Department of Information and Communications Technology, ignored concerns about the Dito-AFP deal.
He expressed confidence in the government’s ability to monitor whether the network infrastructures built were being used for espionage.
“Without a doubt, the telecommunications infrastructure will undergo a series of controlled measures,” Cabanlong told The Manila Times.
Dominic Ligot, a founding member of the board of directors of the Philippine Analysis Association, agreed, saying: “Dito [being] China’s backing is in the same vein as Globe / Smart and it also has foreign investors. “
“However, everything about China is sensitive to the public, so [the] AFP should assure the public that its network is protected from intrusions, “he had said in an interview.
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