Security woes stall phone program in 3 provinces

DAVAO CITY – The government’s Telepono sa Barangay program has remained unimplemented in Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu due to security problems in the three island-provinces.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) actually kicked off the Telepono sa Barangay in 1992 and since then, the program has benefited other areas in Mindanao such as the Zamboanga provinces and Lanao del Norte.

The continuing threat of the extremist Abu Sayyaf in Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu has kept several telecommunications companies from pursuing their projects in the three provinces.

A number of these telecom firms had installed their equipment in some parts of the three provinces but these were either burned down or stolen.

Records of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) show that the number of telephone lines in Mindanao grew from only 62,703 in 1992 to 841,539 at present.

In spite of the growth in the number of telephone lines in Mindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan have no reliable telecommunication systems.

Of 10,044 barangays in Mindanao, 8,242 have no telephone systems. Telephone facilities on the island are concentrated mostly in the urban centers like the cities of Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga and General Santos.

Joji Ilagan-Bian, president of the Mindanao Business Council, is urging the installation of more telephone lines in this part of the country.

"Over the years, our development planners have pushed for Mindanao’s physical interconnection. Now, it is time for us to initiate a parallel move along the information highway," Bian said.

The MBC has initiated an information communication and technology forum among various groups to help improve existing communication facilities in Mindanao.

Mindanao has the lowest telephone density (teledensity) in the country at 4.6, meaning 841,539 installed lines for its 18,209,945 population. Compare this with the National Capital Region (NCR) – teledensity of 29.07, or 3,025,164 installed lines for a population of 10,405,479; Luzon – teledensity of 6.61, or 2,122,247 installed lines for a population of 32,097,547; and the Visayas – teledensity of 5.87, or 917,012 lines for a population of 15,607,170.

Mindanao also lags behind in the number of cell sites although there has been a considerable growth in the country’s cellular mobile telephone subscribers since 1995. The NCR accounts for 45 percent; Luzon, 35 percent; the Visayas, 11 percent; and Mindanao, only 10 percent.

Meanwhile, records of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco) show that only 68 of the 257 public calling offices (PCOs) in Mindanao are actually operational. At least 151 PCOs are non-operational while 38 are beyond repair.

Significantly, all the 11 PCOs installed in Southern Mindanao are operational. Western Mindanao has the most number of PCOs at 120, but only 20 of them are operational, while Central Mindanao has 66 PCOs, only 11 of which are functioning. In the Caraga region, only 19 of the 62 PCOs are functioning.

Undersecretary for Communications Agustin Bengzon said during the recent Mindanao Telecommunications Working Group meeting that the government aims to increase the country’s teledensity to 12.73 by 2004.

Hopefully, Bian said, the target would include areas in Mindanao that need telecommunication systems.

Bengzon said the government also hopes to install telecenters in all municipalities. Its target is to make telecenter services available to 80 percent of the 1,602 municipalities and cities.

The government, he added, is also aiming to provide public telephone service to 35,000 barangays which remain unserved, including villages in Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.