Permanence of telco permitting sought

MANILA, Philippines — The Aboitiz Group and Globe Telecom Inc. are pushing for the institutionalization of a pandemic policy to streamline the procedure on certification, licensing and permitting for telco buildup.

The policy, enforced by the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act on telco permitting, is set to expire in September.

The second Bayanihan law, signed in 2020, suspended for three years a number of requirements in putting up telco infrastructure. As such, telco players like Globe took the opportunity to build new assets, expand their coverage nationwide and improve service quality.

Telco providers are asking the government to extend or institutionalize the policy to reduce red tape. They also said that institutionalizing the policy will bolster connectivity to the benefit of consumers.

In January, the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) submitted a letter to the President asking him to act on the impending expiry of the Bayanihan provision on telco permitting.

PSAC, convened by the government to improve collaboration with the private sector, is presided by Aboitiz Group president and CEO Sabin Aboitiz.

Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu, who sits as a member of the advisory council, said that the PSAC never fails to remind the President of the September lapse of the policy.

“I have to say that Sabin and I, at the PSAC, are working very hard to ensure that the (policy on telco permitting) continues beyond September of this year. We constantly remind the President in every PSAC meeting,” Cu said.

Based on records, Cu said that Globe put up almost 4,500 cellular sites between 2020 and 2022, twice as fast as it did between 2017 and 2019. According to Cu, this goes to show how important the policy is to expediting the network expansion of telco providers.

The policy also guarantees that local government units can no longer slap their own requirements on telco players that add up to the cost of raising connectivity services in the provinces.