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PRRD or President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has made it known often enough that he would like to open the Philippines to foreign telecommunications companies as well as corporations interested in investing in power generation and distribution. The question is: would the foreign investors be “crazy” enough to come to a country where the business model is pegged on protectionism, corruption and vested interest?

In case PRRD has not noticed, the local players are not scared, not because they are arrogant, but simply because they know the daily nightmares involving red tape, corruption and vested interest that is anti-business in the Philippines! The local boys are simply being polite by saying they welcome the competition but the real statement they make in private is: They are welcome to try & Good Luck because they are going to need more than that.

I guess the President does not know or has forgotten that a number of foreign companies have seriously considered setting up shop and partnering with local big boys, but once they understood how corrupt the legal and governmental Network is in the Philippines, they all flew to the next nearest investment opportunity in the region.

The last team that came to town found out that even if you win a contract in the Philippines you can end up in court, your contract nullified, you end up in international courts for arbitration. You can get to “ground breaking” but that’s all you’ll ever get because government officials keep changing designs or demands, government can’t get you right of way, government does not afford real assistance with local politicians etc. In other words, any decent, sensible corporation would stay away from the Philippines until PRRD finally deals with the real issue of corruption among local politicians and the corruption and protectionist system in the judiciary.

There was a time when people wondered why so-called rebels always targeted the cell sites of a particular Telecoms company but not others. Friends in the military would joke: “Kasi Kuripot at ayaw mag bigay ng for the boys” or pay revolutionary tax. I learned from a source that the company officials did not want to be charged of “aiding or giving comfort to the enemy of the state” and was never really sure if the so-called rebels were genuine or simply corrupt government personnel trying to make a fast buck in the hinterlands through extortion.

After a while, the problem seems to have died down or the would-be extortionists finally realized that it was too much trouble and too much risk for nothing. Unfortunately, “extortionists” or obstructionists come in all forms and manners. There are those who intentionally want to get money for nothing or those who officially want to make money for government but at the expense of the public, the nation and business.

I have written several times about a number of congressmen, governor and mayors who have indirectly demanded for anywhere between 150 to 300 thousand pesos so that certain businesses such as Telcos, Satellite & Cable providers etc. can get business permits. What I failed to mention are LGUs that impose ridiculous amounts for “real property tax” or require re-classification of “agricultural land” to “commercial land” even if we are only talking about 90 square meters to build a cell site in the middle of a rice paddy, poultry farm, or grazing land!

Last week, I learned that Globe has decided to use Facebook and launched a video to bring the matter to the attention of their consumers who are several millions strong and inform them that one major reason why Internet speed is slow is because they can’t put up as many cell sites as they can, and want to, because many LGUs are not collaborating with them.

This is their first step of expressing their frustration publicly but I suspect it will escalate and when combined with media, many local politicians may find their province, cities, or towns getting special mention for being a “red tape capital” both on Facebook and Media. With so many voters on Social media, the corrupt may soon have their just desserts.

The video, which is now seen on Facebook, is actually very informative and presents a comparison of Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan and the Philippines in terms of population or number of users versus number of cell sites and average number of users per cell sites.  Vietnam has 55,000 cell sites and 47 million users or 860 persons per cell site. Malaysia has 22,000 cell sites and 20 million users averaging 937 persons per cell site. Japan has 220,000 cell sites for 115 million users or 522 persons per cell site.

The Philippines has the fewest number of cell sites at 21,000 for 47 million or half the population of the Philippines. There are 2,244 Filipinos per cell site or 3 times compared to the other 3 nations in the study. Local governments require an average of 25 permits and it takes 8 months to build 1 cell site.

Between terrorists and extortionists bombing towers for power and telecoms, politicians sending their beloved drivers or BFF to collect money for “Special Use Permits,” and the government unable to issue an Executive Order or a law to fast track the process and remove LGU requirements for projects of national interest, where in the world will we find companies crazy enough to come in? Probably China because the “Peoples Money” is limitless and in exchange that will certainly give them control and access to anything and everything that happens in the Philippines if they conquer our power and our airwaves.

PRRD has the best of intentions but the answer sir is not in the hands of foreign investors. The answer is to sit down with the Telcos and Power companies, with industry and technical experts and find out what the real problems are from those who know, what the sins are, and clean up everybody’s act including and especially local government. Try starting by telling the Secretary of Local Government Mike Sueno to act on the matter and make a “LIST” of corrupt local officials or Local Government Units that undermine infrastructure development.

It is time to deal with Local Government corruption because it affects business, employment and the quality of life of everyday Filipinos.

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