The Cordillera Administrative Region Office of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP-CAR) has issued a show-cause order against new telecom player Dito Telecommunity Corp. for alleged violation of ancestral domain rights of IPs in Benguet.
NCIP-CAR, citing Section 59 of the Republic Act 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), said in a statement Dito has undertaken or is currently undertaking fiber-optics laying in the various ancestral domains in Benguet without securing the Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) and paying just and fair compensation for damages as consequences.
Marlon Bosantog, NCIP-CAR director, gave Dito 15 days to respond and explain why it should not be held liable for violating the IPRA, the statement said.
The statement added NCIP-CAR’s order also noted that “Section 7 (b) of the IPRA (also) recognizes, protects and promotes, among others, the rights of the ICCs/IPs to an informed and intelligent participation in the formulation and implementation of any project, government or private, that will affect or impact upon the ancestral domains and to receive just and fair compensation for any damages (that) they may sustain as a result of the project.”
Dito has a pending application with the NCIP-CAR for the construction of a telecommunications tower in La Trinidad, Benguet. Notwithstanding the existing application, the project is still in the preliminary stages of the FPIC process, NCIP-CAR said.
Dito refused to comment on the show-cause order, saying it is investigating the matter. Dito’s commercial launch is set this March, delivering minimum internet speed on both mobile and fixed broadband of 27 megabits per second and 37 percent coverage nationwide.
As of November 2020, National Telecommunications Commission data showed Dito has built 2,066 cell sites and is laying fiber nationwide to deliver its promised internet speed in the next five years. – Myla Iglesias
