The law is set to take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.
DITO is a consortium made up of companies owned by Davao-based billionaire Dennis Uy such as Udenna Corp., Udenna's subsidiary Chelsea Logistics Holdings Inc., and China Telecoms.
Under the law, DITO will be allowed "to operate and maintain all its stations, lines, cables, systems and equipment for the transmission and reception of messages, signals, and pulses in a satisfactory manner at all times.”
The third telco player shall also submit an annual report to Congress on or before April 30 of every year during the term of its franchise. Failure to do so will render the franchise revoked and will be penalized with a PHP 1 million fine each day.
Lawmakers and security experts had earlier expressed concern over the state-owned China Telecoms participation in DITO, saying it could be used by China to conduct widespread surveillance in the Philippines as the new telco would build facilities inside military camps.
However, Malacanang downplayed the allegations.
DITO launched its services on March 8 in Metro Cebu and Metro Davao. On May 1, it announced that it will be expanding its service to more areas in Luzon.
