Dito Telecommunity, the Philippine’s third telecommunications company, should first prove that it can effectively roll out its promise of a better, faster, and affordable Internet services before it pursues the renewal of its franchise.

Sen. Grace Poe, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Services, said this will help Congress gauge whether the third telco can live up to its potential provide to better and reliable Internet connectivity than all other existing and dominant players.

Besides, Poe said, Dito’s franchise isn’t over until 2023, so they have sufficient time to prove they can fulfill their promise.

“Ang gusto kasi ng Dito Telecommunity, ma-renew na ang kanilang prangkisa ng maaga. Pero para sa akin serbisyo muna bago ma-renew. Susuriin muna natin kung naibigay ba nila ng mabilis (Dito Telecommunity wants to renew their franchise early. But for me, they should provide service first before their franchise is renewed. We will scrutinize first if they can offer faster services),” Poe said in an interview over Radio DZBB.

“Tingnan natin kung sa Enero talaga bang ang mga ipinangako nila ay bibilis daw ang Internet, tapos ang mga barangay na mabibigay at ang pangako na hindi raw ganun kamahal (We’ll see in January if their promise that Internet services would be faster will materialize, and if they can give barangays greater access and their promise that this will not be too expensive).”

“Tingnan natin sa Enero kung dapat sila bigyan ng prangkisa, hindi naman basta nag apply lang mabibigyan na (Let’s see in January if they deserve a franchise renewal. Just because one applied for a franchise, it would automatically be approved),” she also said.

Besides, Poe said Dito has yet to convince lawmakers its operations would not negatively impact the country’s national security, considering its operations are backed by ChinaTel, which is controlled by the Chinese government.

“Para sa akin, common sense na lang, nagpapatayo (sila) sa mga kampo (natin) kaya kailangan bantayan ng mabuti (For me, its commonsense, they are building sites within our camps, so we really need to be vigilant).”

“Ang magpapatayo niyan, oo, Pilipino rin,pero meron silang technical experts na banyaga (Yes, it will be built by Filipinos but still they have technical experts who are foreigners),” she noted.

Though the Department of National Defense has assured there are mechanisms they can apply to ensure that the Chinese government cannot conduct surveillance activities in the Philippines, the State has the right to refuse and protect its rights and sovereignty, Poe said.

“Nasa Konstitusyon naman natin iyan, kung meron tayong naamoy na, aba, ginagamit ang telco na ito para makapaniktik sa atin, bawiin agad ang prankisa (That’s in our Constitution that if we sense something suspicious, that if we think this telco can conduct surveillance on us, then we can revoke the franchise),” Poe said.