Partnerships produce faster permit processing
For the building of poles, construction of underground fiber ducts, and installation of aerial and underground cable and facilities to support Internet infrastructure, processing time was immensely shortened
In a discussion with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on 12 January, the PSAC Digital Infrastructure group bared the results of their collaboration with government agencies including efficiency in telco permit processing.
PSAC Digital Infrastructure lead and Union Bank of the Philippines Chief Technology and Operations Officer Henry Aguda reported to the President that since the July 2020 implementation of the Anti-Red Tape Authority’s Joint Memorandum Circulars to streamline guidelines on telco towers and Internet infrastructure, there has been great improvement in the efficiency of telco permit processing.
For shared telco tower infrastructures, processing time has dropped from eight months to a mere 16 days, permit requirements dropped from 13 permits to eight, and documentary requirements dropped from 86 to 35.
Additionally, for the building of poles, construction of underground fiber ducts, and installation of aerial and underground cable and facilities to support Internet infrastructure, processing time was immensely shortened from two and a half years to just two and a half months.
7K towers rise
This translated to an over 300 percent increase in tower construction or 7,000 built towers.
A current Executive Order that resulted in these improvements is set to expire in June 2023, which prompted PSAC to recommend that President Marcos issue a new EO for the permanent adoption and enforcement of the ARTA JMCs by relevant government agencies and local government units.
This would make it easier for telcos to expedite work and provide reliable, efficient, and faster Internet service across the country. ARTA Director General Ernest Perez, who attended the meeting, supported the call.
“PSAC fully agrees with the government that we are entering an age of adoption of technology. We are either left behind or we take that challenge head-on. Here together, private and public sectors, we are in a shared belief and commitment that technology has the power to uplift every Filipino. We saw it during the pandemic, and we see it as the path moving the nation forward and beyond,” Aguda said.
The members of the Digital Infrastructure group provided invaluable insights and expertise into what digitalization could achieve for the country and, more importantly, the key steps to take to become a digital nation.
Aguda was joined by the members of the PSAC Digital Infrastructure group: PLDT President and Chief Executive Officer Al Panlilio, Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu, and Bank of the Philippine Islands Chief Operating Officer Ramon Jocson.