There is no problem with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) even if Secretary Delfin Lorenzana will not approve a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with a telecommunications firm with links to China Telecom.

"No problem, because it's his prerogative," said AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. said when asked if there is a chance that agreement will not be approved by Lorenzana.

The agreement between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the new telco, Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company (Mislatel) was signed during the ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo last week.

The Mislatel consortium, which will adopt the name Dito Telecommunity, is composed of Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp., Udenna Corp, and China Telecom.

Madrigal added he does not see any problem with the agreement saying that it is the same agreement the military has with other telcos.

"It passed through our intelligence. It passed through our legal and of course with our communications people, I'm recommending it for approval," he said.

"We do not hide anything, as I've said and I'll say it again the contract is the same contract that we did, that we are doing with Globe, with Smart. This is a telecommunications company that won through public bidding," Madrigal said.

"Remember before they won from what I know it passed through the National Telecommunications Commission before winning the bid. All these security measures have been of course undertaken. Of course we in the military also undertake our due diligence, especially security," he added. Robina Asido/DMS