MANILA, Philippines – DITO Telecommunity Corp., the country’s new major telecommunications player, on Tuesday, released the list of key areas in Visayas and Mindanao where its services will be initially available as it sets to commercially rollout on March 8.

In an advisory, DITO said its services will be initially available in the following areas:

METRO CEBU

• Carcar
• Cebu City
• Consolacion
• Danao
• Liloan
• Mandaue
• Minglanilla
• Naga
• San Fernando
• Talisay

METRO DAVAO

• Panabo
• Tagum
• Carmen
• Davao City
• Digos

In a virtual press briefing, DITO Telecom chief administrative officer Atty. Adel Tamano said the company’s services will first be launched in Visayas and Mindanao areas and will eventually make its way to the rest of the country.

Tamano said starting the telco’s commercial rollout in Mindanao is a “sentimental” decision to honor its origin.

“Ang desisyon talaga na magsimula sa Mindanao kasi yung roots po ng Dito ay Mindanao talaga. Ang original name talaga ng DITO is Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company at ang purpose ng initial franchise ng DITO was to serve Mindanao,” he said.

“Kaya naisip namin na maganda ang unang commercial rollout hindi sa Manila kundi sa Mindanao specifically sa Davao at Visayas na rin specifically sa Cebu,” he added.

Tamano said DITO Telecom’s initial commercial operations will be limited to mobile services but will be expanded to included broadband services by the middle of the year.

The telco’s commitment was to deliver 37.03% national population coverage within a minimum average broadband speed of 27 megabits per second (Mbps) in its first year of operations.

But based on the findings of an independent technical audit, DITO’s minimum average broadband speed were recorded at 85.9 Mbps for 4G and 507.5 Mbps for 5G.

The telco is operated by Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corporation, Udenna’s subsidiary Chelsea Logistics Holdings Inc. and China Telecommunications Corp. – RRD (with details from Correspondent Joan Nano)

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), on Thursday (December 17), said it is monitoring a low-pressure area (LPA) off of Mindanao. 

The LPA was located 820 east of Davao city. The state weather bureau said it is unlikely to become a tropical cyclone but its trough will bring rainfall in several parts of Visayas and Mindanao.

Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Caraga, Soccksargen, and Davao regions will experience cloudy skies and scattered rainfall today. 

The Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera Administrative Region will also experience cloudy skies due to the northern monsoon or amihan.

Meanwhile, Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon may experience cloudy to partly cloudy skies with isolated rain.

The Philippines dominated the Conde Naste Traveler’s (CNT) list of top islands in Asia.

Cebu and Visayas Islands have been named among Top Island in Asia while Palawan, Siargao, and Boracay ranked fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said it will be a challenge for the department to continue advocating sustainable and responsible tourism practices that will help preserve these destinations.

“This latest citation from CNT gives us in the Department of Tourism (DOT) a boost of confidence, as we continuously carry out our strategies to gradually reopen domestic tourism, to once again welcome travelers from other countries when things become better,” she said. AAC