ISAFP chief sees ‘low’ intrusion risk in allowing DITO facilities inside camps

The chief of the Intelligence Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) gave assurance on Wednesday that allowing third telco DITO Telecommunity Corp. to construct facilities inside military camps would not compromise national security.

During a hearing of the Commission on Appointments, Major General Jose Eriel Niembra, a former commander of the Presidential Security Group, said they considered a lot of threats such as radio frequency jamming and interception but found the risks low.

"All the technical  people in the Armed Forces found the risk to be low so there is a low risk or a very low possibility that these cell sites might intrude into our networks," he said.

Nevertheless, he added that the AFP is now contemplating on adding more safeguard provisions in the memorandum of agreement with DITO.

The proposed additional provisions include the "employment of all-Filipino engineers just to make sure that their loyalty will be to the Philippines," according to Niembra.

"The MOA states that we our engineers will be present during the installation, during the maintenance, and we will be granted access or security audit anytime that we want to these facilities," he added.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana recently said he has signed an agreement with DITO, allowing it to construct facilities and install equipment inside military camps.

Dito, formerly Mislatel Consortium, is made up of Davao businessman Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corporation (35%), Udenna’s subsidiary Chelsea Logistics Holdings Inc. (25%), and Chinese state-owned China Telecommunications Corporation (40%).

Amid concerns on national security, the consortium assured the public that it will never obtain classified information from the country's Armed Forces.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon also downplayed the possibility of espionage.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, nonetheless, called for an immediate Senate probe on the agreement between the military and Dito— a move welcomed by the AFP. — RSJ, GMA News