Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday said that Dito Telecommunity Corporation should be more transparent with respect to its relationship with the authoritarian Chinese regime, amid the Senate’s granting of the third telco’s franchise.
“Ngayong may prankisa na ang Dito, dapat maging pranka narin sila sa ugnayan nila sa gobyerno ng Tsina. Hindi na kaila na ang ChinaTel, which is fully owned by the Chinese state, ay nagmamay-ari din ng Dito. This is an undisputed fact. Dito should just be real with the public and stop understating China’s stake in it,” Hontiveros said.
The senator stressed that the 60% Filipino ownership of the company appears to be a thin shell covering the bulk of the Chinese capital actually powering the project.
“How can Dito ensure us that it is not the Chinese government that’s calling the shots? May trauma na tayo mula sa pagkakaalam natin na mukhang ang pangunahing nagpapatakbo ng National Power Grid Corporation, our main power system, ay mga Chinese pala. Iniiwasan lang natin mangyari na ang isa sa mga major telco natin, hawak din ng China,” she said.
In 2019, Hontiveros filed a resolution urging the Senate to look into reports that China may be in control of the NGCP, and that it can remotely shut down our country’s power transmission system.
“Ipagpapalit ba natin ang West Philippine Sea para sa unli data? Pinasok na ng Tsina ang ating mga karagatan. Pinasok na nila ang ating power system. At ngayon, pati ba naman text at internet natin, papasukin na rin? We’re surrounded,” Hontiveros said.
The senator also flagged the potential implications of the Public Services Act (PSA), which is currently for interpellation in the Senate. The PSA may allow 100% foreign ownership in multiple sectors, including the telecommunications sector.
“Ang hinihingi natin ngayon sa Dito ay maging tapat sa publikong Pilipino. If you truly are Filipino run as you claim to be, can you promise the public that in the event the PSA is amended, a majority of Dito’s shares will remain with Filipinos? We need Dito’s public assurance and transparency; otherwise, we will remain suspicious of its true identity in our country,” Hontiveros concluded.