AFP in talks with DITO for camp cell towers

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) says it is still finalizing discussions on where the China-linked third telcommunications firm Dito Telecommunity Corp. will be allowed to construct cell towers inside military camps.

AFP spokesman Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said that Dito Telecommunity, a consortium led by Davao City-based businessman Dennis Uy and China Telecommunications Corp., will be given the same deal as what was granted to the two dominant players, Globe and Smart.

“The secretary of national defense just signed the memorandum of agreement so we are now in the process of discussing where exactly these military camps will be and how many,” he said in an interview on CNN Philippines.

He noted that cell towers would not be established in “the heart of military camps” but will be installed in the outskirts of the reservations.

However, there are current cell towers in the AFP national headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo as well as other key facilities in Baguio City and in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

Arevalo again tried to allay espionage fears, saying that a risk assessment made by military IT experts categorized this as only low-risk.

“The AFP studied the possible risks of putting antennas and cell sites inside the camps. Low threats in terms of concerns on spying or listening devices or eavesdropping,” he added.

He said that this low risk will also be mitigated by ensuring ample safeguard preparations and measures to ensure that national security will be protected.

“We already assessed. Very low risk. We think that this is not a cause of major concern. Be that as it may, we continue to evaluate to ensure that national security will be protected,” Arevalo said.

Any installations, repairs and maintenance work to be done on the cell sites would be guarded by AFP personnel and experts from other agencies, such as the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commissions (NTC).

Arevalo noted that the DICT and the NTC “endorsed” the deal with Dito Telecommunity to the AFP, whose memorandum of agreement was recently signed by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

“The reason why he signed it is he was satisfied with what the AFP presented in terms of preparations and measures instituted to ensure that national security will be protected,” he added.

The installation of cell sites inside military camps would not only be beneficial for Dito and the military, but would also benefit the general public amid the need for more connectivity in the pandemic, Arevalo added.