LGUs, ECs urged to cut red tape in telco permits

MANILA, Philippines — Local government units (LGUs) and electric cooperatives (ECs) across the country should eliminate barriers to broadband connectivity as these deprive their constituents of tangible economic opportunities, a consumer advocacy group said.

“This is not a technology or even a capital issue but more of a bureaucratic bane,” said Tim Abejo, co-convenor of CitizenWatch Philippines. “It is something we can address swiftly and effectively with enough political will and commitment.”

He cited that existing efforts by the national government and the private sector to ease bureaucratic processes are hobbled by implementers at the grassroots level.

“There have been laudable developments in terms of crafting policies that specifically encourage the establishment of telco infrastructure,” Abejo said. “But apparently there are still administrative blocks at the site level that are delaying the powering up of telco towers.”

According to Abejo, LGUs have the discretion to adopt streamlined processes for establishing telco towers and other infrastructure in their area. Meanwhile, the electrification of telco towers already in place hinges on the efficiency of ECs to deliver power to them.

“You can have all the equipment in place, but if they are not electrified, they might as well be white elephants,” Abejo said.

Non-standardized processes, delays, confusion in obtaining permits, resource shortages, inflexible timelines and inconsistent fees – these are some of the challenges to the energization process of telco towers identified during a workshop conducted by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) with the country’s telco players held recently at the Globe Telecom Tower in Taguig City.

Representatives from the telco and tower companies attended the workshop, with the participants agreeing that improving coordination, standardizing requirements, and reducing delays are crucial for streamlining the process and accelerating the expansion of the country’s digital infrastructure.

“We hope the President will soon sign the Executive Order on Telecommunications Infrastructure Development to institutionalize the fast processing of permits and licenses relevant to digital infrastructure projects,” Abejo said.

The EO will, among others, spell out the guidelines governing the establishment of telecommunication towers and other internet infrastructure, based on initial gains realized from two Joint Memorandum Circulars issued in 2020 and 2021 but will expire end of next month.

“Those two JMCs have enabled us to achieve substantial progress in the past years,” said Abejo. “We were able to significantly cut down the number of documentary requirements, number of permits needed, and the processing time for the applications.”