Congress urged to probe Dito for broken promises
ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro has asked Congress to investigate Dito Telecommunity, the third telco player in the country, for its failure to fulfill its promises after it was granted a franchise.
Castro said Dito should be meted a penalty corresponding to its franchise.
“Nag- oppose kami diyan sa Dito telco na ‘yan dahil before pa aprubahan ang another 25 years franchise niyan, wala namang natupad sa mga promise nito,” said Castro.
“At isa pa, controlled ito ng China Telecom na maaaring threat sa national security.”
Castro sought for a congressional probe after his office learned of Dito’s broken promises.
Dito had promised to provide services to 37% of the population on its first year of operation. However, the lawmaker learned that the third telco had not even covered 37% of its targeted customers as it used population data in 2015 and not in 2021, where nine million residents have been added.
Dito also promised to maintain an average minimum internet speed of 27 MBPS. However, a test conducted by Rappler in Manila showed it only had 3 MBPS upload and 4 MBPS download speeds.
Castro also wants to confirm reports that Dito had only set up 1,600 cell towers in the country based on the technical audit of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in January 2021. This is in stark contract to its pledge to construct 2,500 cell towers.
Aside from this, Dito was granted franchise to provide services to the underprivileged and marginalized sectors of society. However, reports that reached the lawmaker showed the third telco is anti-poor because it rolled out in highly urbanized cities like VisMin and Metro Manila. To avail of Dito’s services, the poor have to buy 4G handsets.
Castro said Dito would have been a big help, specially to distance learners, if only it had fulfilled promises.
