LGUs complying with Duterte's order to act on telco tower applications — Año

MANILA, Philippines — Local governments are complying with President Rodrigo Duterte's order to fast-track the processing of documents of telecommunication firms that seek to build towers to improve their services, the interior department said.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the number of approved permit and clearance applications has risen to 1,171 from 574 last week.

"The approval of applications for permits and clearances by LGUs (local government units) is now fast," Año said during a meeting of the government's pandemic task force last Monday in Malacañang.

"There are 428 applications remaining and these are new ones. That means they are complying," he added.

During his fifth state of the nation address last July, Duterte demanded that telecommunication firms improve their services within the year or face closure. Telcos, however, have said red tape and non-standardized requirements were making it difficult for them to build towers. The president responded by promising not to show mercy to officials who delay the processing of permits for cell sites.

Año commended the Manila local government for acting on all pending permit applications by telcos.

"I hope all other LGUs will follow," the interior chief said.

"The world and the country have gone digital so we need to lay out the towers because all classes are now being done online," he added.

Año noted that the Bayanihan 2 law has waived some of the requirements for the building of telco infrastructure. Agencies including the interior, information and communications, and trade departments and the Anti-Red Tape Authority are expected to craft implementing guidelines for the automatic rollout of the towers.

"So I don’t think telcos will have reasons to say that they are facing difficulties," Año said.

Duterte reiterated that the processing of documents should not be delayed.

"It’s very sad that this country has been, you know, allowing this practice of delays and the promoting the...the laggard quality of our civil service," he said.

"Why allow it to last for two months? And nobody was really taking notice of it or raising a howl about these things, these crazy people have become used to it. So they just sit there nonchalant...Why did they not think about this?  Why would they allow three months, six months, four years?" he added.

Duterte said he had asked some cabinet members to leave because of their failure to address the problem. He said when he was mayor of Davao City, he required offices under him to complete the processing of papers in three days.

"If it is more than three days, explain to me in writing why it took you more than three days or else I will file, I will go directly to the ombudsman. I will (charge) you for negligence or really indolent, not doing your duty," he added.

Duterte claimed his daughter Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio followed the requirement "with more vigor and vitality."

"She (Carpio) has shortened it to one day," he said.