DITO Telecom to pay rent 'in kind' for cell sites inside military camps

President Rodrigo Duterte turns over the certificate of public convenience to Dito chairman Dennis Uy in this July 2019 photo

Dito Telecommunity will not be paying cash for the space it will lease inside the camps of the Armed Forces of the Philippines for cell towers.

AFP Spokesperson MGen. Edgard Arevalo said the new mobile service provider will be paying rent "in kind," either through trainings on how to maintain facilities, the use of new technology, as well as assistance from its information and communication technology experts.

The Department of National Defense has allowed the China-backed firm to put up cell sites within military camps, supposedly similar to the deals earlier signed with local players Smart and Globe. This has been met with opposition, with several lawmakers looking to block the AFP-Dito deal.

Arevalo said even without collecting rental fees, the arrangement is a win-win situation.

"This is mutually beneficial for telcos at mutually beneficial na rin sa AFP. And of course, 'yung ibinabayad nila by way of remuneration in case of Globe and Smart. Dito sa case ng Dito Telecommunity, they are going to compensate us in kind – kagaya ng mga training, equipment, upgrade ng ating mga capability," he told CNN Philippines' The Source on Friday.

Portions of military-owned lots are allowed to be leased out to private firms, usually subject to a lease contract for a corresponding rental fee – which is the arrangement with the two existing telcos.

For Dito, they will pay by providing trainings on how to maintain facilities and on adopting new technology, as well as upgrades and continuing education for the military's ICT experts, Arevalo said. AFP will also benefit by making it easier for them to secure cell sites, which he said are targets of communist rebels especially in remote areas for extortion and "protection money."

Arevalo said the location of these towers have not yet been identified, but noted that existing service providers have built towers inside Camp Aguinaldo, the AFP headquarters in Quezon City, inside the Philippine Military Academy compound in Baguio City, and at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig.

"When we talk about military camps, we don’t necessarily mean at the heart of these military camps. May mga kampo tayo na malalaki ang reservations at pwedeng doon 'yan ilalagay [We have camps with big reservations where it can be built], co-located with other signal facility kagaya ng dalawa pang telco na Globe and Smart," Arevalo said.

"This deal is not specifically or specially catering Dito Telecommunity. This is the same deal that we have so far granted with these two telcos," he added.

Legal and security experts have long flagged risks in letting a telco provider backed by a Chinese government corporation from providing a crucial service to Filipinos, adding that they could easily install spyware and listening devices to monitor military movement and equipment. This is particularly crucial at a time of Manila's territorial row with Beijing in the South China Sea.

Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, have called on the AFP to revoke the cell tower deal inside camps. However, the AFP said the deal to set up cell towers inside camps was subject to thorough review, adding there was "low" threat of espionage.

By Melissa Luz Lopez, CNN Philippines

Source: Peso Economics