MANILA, Philippines — Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo yesterday gave assurance that on matters of national security, the general public can always trust the military.
Arevalo was reacting to security concerns raised over the AFP’s approval of the project of Dito Telecommunity Corp., a telecommunications firm owned by the group led by Davao City-based businessman Dennis Uy and China Telecoms, to set up facilities inside military camps all over the country.
“The AFP is just as concerned when it comes to security. The inherent predisposition of the AFP towards security you grant us. And you trust us when we say that we are going to ensure that national secrets and the security of our communications will be guarded and protected,” Arevalo said.
Arevalo also pointed out that the government gave clearance for Dito to become the country’s third telecommunications provider with a concurrent resolution allowing its sale, and franchise to operate, basically allowing it to practice and do business in the country.
The military leadership under outgoing AFP chief Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. was criticized for entering into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Dito to allow the firm to set up its communications facilities inside military camps.
The MOA has not yet been approved by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who is currently abroad.
There were concerns that Dito through China Telecoms could be used for espionage operations by the Chinese military.
“As I was saying earlier, we have looked into this. We have made sure that the necessary safeguards are there and we saw that to be in order,” Arevalo said.
He added that there would be no actual interconnection between the military communication facilities and Dito, just like the two other telecommunication providers Smart and Globe whose communication facilities are also located inside military camps.
“There will be no connection except hosting or co-locating of telecommunication facilities within the area being guarded by the military,” Arevalo said.