Senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Risa Hontiveros have again brought up their concerns over Dito Telecommunity’s business connection with China Telecom, with Pangilinan calling for an executive session to discuss the matter in the Senate.
Pangilinan underscored the need to look into the serious implications in terms of national security that Dito might bring, being a company partially owned by China Telecom.
“Perhaps the chair may consider, at some point, calling an executive session, so that we can discuss, very sensitive national security issues, and we will be able to discuss freely,” Pangilinan said during the Senate Committee on Public Services’ hearing on the renewal of Dito’s franchise.
Committee chairperson Sen. Grace Poe acceded to Pangilinan’s call for an executive session.
Pangilinan revealed that China Telecom is one of the 20 companies listed by the US Department of Defense that have direct links to the People’s Liberation Army.
Pangilinan pointed out that Chinese companies, under the People’s Republic of China’s Counter Espionage Law of 2014 and Chinese National Intelligence Law of 2017, are mandated to cooperate in intelligence gathering and data gathering.
Chinese companies are also required to conduct espionage activities and immediately report to the government critical information they gathered.
“How is Dito going to address this in terms of the security concerns of the country, given that China Telecom, precisely has a 40 percent stake with their company?” said Pangilinan.
The senator also raised concern over the agreement that the Department of National Defense (DND) has entered into with Dito for the establishment of towers in military camps.
For her part, Hontiveros said Dito’s presence in the country, as well as in military camps, raises more concerns when the Philippines appears to be unprepared to defend itself against cyberthreats and attacks.
“The Chinese government has a 40% stake in Dito telco. Tapos hindi pala handa ang ating mga depensa laban sa cyberattacks. Dapat hindi nauunahan ng isang Chinese government, sa pamamagitan ng ChinaTel, ang pagpapatayo ng mga networks sa bansa kung may unresolved issues pa sa seguridad at depensa,” Hontiveros said.
During the Senate hearing, engineer Pierre Galla of Democracy.net.ph said that the country has not established a cyberdefense doctrine to guide our Armed Forces and intelligence community in combatting threats in the digital landscape, including those posed by State-sponsored hacking groups.
“Kailangan magkaroon na nito bago pa magpapasok ng isang kumpanyang maaring gamiting trojan horse. Alam naman natin na may pansariling interes ang Tsina sa ating bansa, kaya this so-called cyberdefense doctrine should be established quickly,” the senator said.
During the hearing, the senator said that a China-based hacking group, code name “Naikon,” has been quietly carrying out a five-year espionage campaign against Asia-Pacific governments, including the Philippines.
“ChinaTel is not a private corporation. This is a proxy of a Chinese regime intent on pushing its weight around and imposing its will upon the region. By allowing a proxy of the Chinese government to set up networks in the country, as well as facilities in our military camps, it is reasonable to conclude that a state-sponsored hacking group can easily get one foot in our door. It might become the spearhead of a Chinese cyber offensive against the country,” said Hontiveros, who filed Senate Resolution No. 137 that seeks to probe the deal between the AFP and Dito.
“We cannot divorce Dito’s franchise from ChinaTel’s stake in it. At a time when China continues her adventurism in contested territories in the West Philippine Sea, it is even more crucial that we stay vigilant and fiercely protect what is rightfully ours,” Hontiveros said.