MANILA, 15 April 2013 -- Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. (Digitel) has completed its redundancy program with about 80% of the 427 affected employees accepting the enhanced redundancy package offered by the company. 
 
Digitel spokesperson Reuben Pangan said that the enhanced package was about twice the amount required by law and included a 2-year medical coverage plan. “To cushion the impact of the redundancy program, we found alternative employment for about two-thirds of the affected employees, either in PLDT, Sun Cellular, or with our contractors,” Pangan said. 
 
“Those who could not be found alternative jobs were given various forms of assistance in the course of this transition on top of the redundancy package.  For instance, entrepreneurship, livelihood and other workshops were held for these employees,” he added.                                         
 
Pangan explained that Digitel has had to conduct this redundancy program following the move to migrate its 140,000 landline subscribers in its franchise areas in northern, central, and southern Luzon to PLDT facilities.
                                              
He said that Digitel was compelled to migrate its subscribers to its parent firm PLDT because its landline facilities are at the end-of-life stage and would be progressively difficult to operate because there are no longer any spare parts for these equipment.            
      
“This would make Digitel subscribers increasingly vulnerable to possible service disruptions due to equipment failure,” Pangan said. 
                                                                                              
He said that Digitel in late-2011 had initiated a program to modernize its landline network but only five percent of the network had been upgraded so far.
                                                                                              
“Given that situation, it was decided that migration to PLDT was the most expeditious and effective way of ensuring that Digitel customers would continue to be served at the same rates, with the same subscriber number, and, with the same if not better  quality of service,” he noted. 
                                                                                              
Digitel sought and obtained approvals of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) at every phase of the migration process.