Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday, August 16 vowed to continue pressing the National Security Council (NSC) to conduct a security audit on Dito Telecommunity, the country’s third player in the telecommunications industry, amid spying concerns.

Hontiveros said she would not be surprised if state-owned China Telecom is the ‘Trojan horse’ that was sent to spy on the Philippine government’s affairs through the Dito consortium.

“Hindi ako magtataka kung ang ChinaTel ay sadyang bumili ng stakes sa Dito Telco para mas malalim ang magagawang pag-eespiya sa ating bansa, lalo na at may pansariling interes ang Tsina sa ating mga teritoryo, (I won’t be surprised if ChinaTel deliberately bought stakes in the Dito Telco so it can conduct espionage activities in our country, especially since China has special interests in our territories),” said Hontiveros.

Hontiveros said it is high time the NSC should make sure the country’s telecommunication’s industry is secure from any foreign threats.

“Maaaring ‘Trojan Horse’ nga ang Dito ng ChinaTel kaya tuloy-tuloy ang ating pangangalampag sa Dito at pati na rin sa NSC para masiguradong hindi nagiging bulnerable ang ating pambansang seguridad (ChinaTel could really be the Trojan horse here at Dito that’s why we will continue to put pressure on Dito, including NSC, to make sure that our national security is not vulnerable to external threats),” she stressed.

“Hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin nagagawa ang mungkahi nating matagal na na magsagawa ng security audit sa Dito (Until now, they have not listed to our proposal to conduct a security audit on Dito),” the lawmaker lamented.

Hontiveros had filed Senate Resolution No. 137 asking the Upper Chamber to investigate the deal between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Dito Telecommunity Corp., which allows Dito to rent spaces and build facilities in military camps and communications relay stations.

Dito is 40 percent owned by China Telecom, a Chinese government-owned firm. The 60 percent is owned by Dennis Uy, a known supporter of the Duterte administration.

The senator said it cannot be denied that China has economic interests in the West Philippine Sea.

“Hindi kaila na ang Tsina ay may malaking interes na angkinin ang West Philippine Sea at kung isasaalang-alang ang mga aksiyon ng kanilang mga barko lalo na nitong taon, lantaran nilang gagawin ang lahat — bumili man ng telecom o ng power system — para mapasakanila kung ano ang atin (It can’t be denied that China has a huge interest to claim our West Philippine Sea and if we take into consideration their actions in the past year, they will blatantly do everything—whether through our telecoms or power system—just for them to claim what is ours),” she lamented.

Earlier, an Australian lawmaker warned that China is using Communist Party-controlled and owned instrumentalities like ChinaTel and Dito as ‘Trojan Horses’ to infiltrate infrastructure of small countries in the Indo-China region.

Dito’s administrative officer, Adel Tamano, had disputed spying activities on the part of the company, saying the Dito Telecommunity is run by Filipinos and would not allow espionage activities that could put the country’s national security at risk.