Senator Francis Pangilinan
(Senate of the Philippines / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Pangilinan reiterated his call following the US Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) move to stop China Telecom (Americas) Corp.’s operation in the United States for security reasons.
FCC chair Ajit Pail had stressed how the Chinese government mandates firms like China Telecom to covertly siphon sensitive information and to intercept communications from the US.
The FCC has also asked China Telecom and three other telecommunication companies (Telcos) to show evidence to prove “that they are not at the behest of the Chinese Government.”
Aside from the FCC, the US Departments of Defense, Commerce, Justice and State and Homeland Security also shared concerns over the Chinese government’s control over China Telecom and three other Chinese Telcos.
The measure, Senate Resolution No. 600, seeks to identify the gaps in law enforcement, attain justice for the victims, and break the culture of impunity in the country especially among law enforcement agencies.
The filing of the measure comes on the heels of the cold-blooded murder of a mother and son by a police official in Paniqui, Tarlac last Sunday afternoon.
Angara, Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, Sherwin Gatchalian and Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri.
The senators stressed the necessity to conduct a Senate probe, noting that in a span of six months from July to December of this year 2020, at least 15 persons consisting of doctors, lawyers, journalists and other members of the community were unlawfully killed.