Hontiveros reiterates call for NTC security audit of Dito
SENATOR Risa Hontiveros urged the National Security Council (NSC) anew to conduct a security audit of DITO Telecommunity, the third telco player in the country.
This developed after the United States blacklisted Chinese firms, including China Telecom, which has 40 percent share in Dito, due to suspicions that they supply or support China’s military and security apparatus.
“Hindi nakapagtataka na kasama ang ChinaTel sa mga blacklisted Chinese firms ng US. ChinaTel is 100% owned and fully controlled by the government of China. Nagre-report ito mismo sa Ministry of Industry and Information ng Tsina, na nasa ilalim ng State Council ng People’s Republic of China,” said Hontiveros.
“Let’s also not forget that under China’s National Intelligence law, Chinese corporations are obliged to support intelligence-gathering efforts. China also has a Chinese Counter-Espionage Law, which forbids Chinese companies from refusing to assist their government in surveillance work,” added Hontiveros.
The lady senator believes that any country would do everything to protect its national interests like blacklisting a company or nullifying its projects just like what the US did with China Telecom.
Filipinos expect this kind of defense against China’s encroachment on the Philippines amid its continued efforts to occupy the West Philippine Sea, Hontiveros said.
“Tayo sa Pilipjnas, kailangan din nating bantayan at depensahan ang ating pambansang interes. Especially in light of China’s aggressive maneuvers in our own seas, it is only right that we also review Chinese companies that may pose a threat to our national security.
“It is in this same spirit of protecting the national interest that I was impelled to vote against Dito’s franchise. This is also precisely why I called on the National Security Council to conduct a security audit of the telco. This is precisely why I filed Senate Resolution 137 to probe the AFP-Dito deal that allows Dito to build cell towers inside our military camps,” the senator stressed.
“Lahat ng mga panawagan ko, wala pa ni isa ang naaksiyunan o natupad. Sana dinggin na ang mga ito dahil ito rin naman ang hiling ng mga Filipino,” she added.
