Honasan reiterates penalties vs. DITO if it fails to meet commitments

Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II on Wednesday reiterated the consequences that third telco DITO Telecommunity Corp. will have to deal if it fails to meet its commitments to improve connectivity in the country.

The government will audit in July if DITO has put in place its network of 1,600 telecommunications towers and if the telco can cover 37% of the population with 27 megabits per second speed.

“‘Pag ‘di nila nagawa ito, ‘yung Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) nila at radio frequencies babawiin ng gobyerno,” Honasan told reporters during a site inspection of DITO’s tower in Quezon City.

“Karapatan at tungkulin ng gobyerno na ‘pag ‘di sila tumupad sa kondisyon ng ‘pag accredit, babawiin sa kanila ‘yun,” the DICT chief said.

For his part, DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano assured authorities that the telco will have its network ready in July this year.

DITO Telecommunity received its certificate of public convenience and necessity from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) last July 2019 to operate as the third major telco.

DITO, formerly known as Mislatel Consortium is comprised of Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp., its subsidiary Chelsea Logistics Holdings Inc., China Telecommunications Corp., and Mindanao Islamic Telephone.

Apart from revoking its CPCN and frequencies, Honasan also said the government will take DITO’s performance bond P25.7 billion if it fails to deliver its commitments.

There is also a penalty of “P10.7 billion in the second year, P8 billion in third year, P5.3 billion in fourth year, and P2.7 billion in fifth year.”

“Ang pamahalaan sisiguruhin na idi-deliver ng DITO ang pinangakong 55-mbps internet speed at 80% coverage of population within the five-year period,” Honasan said.

DITO is targeting to have its commercial rollout in March 2021. — RSJ, GMA News