The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has called on the police and military personnel not to restrict the access of servicemen and linemen working for mobile operators and for the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) during the lockdown in Luzon.
The DICT said the servicemen and linemen fall under the travel exception as provided in Section 5 of the Memorandum on Community Quarantine Over the Entire Luzon and Further Guidelines for the Management of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) issued by the Office of the President.
The provision states that “telecommunications supplies and facilities, shall be open and that transit to and from the above establishments anywhere within the area covered by the Enhanced Community Quarantine shall be allowed.”
As such, the NTC has issued a memorandum dated March 16, 2020 allowing all telecommunication-related work force (including those who perform indirect services such as the security, technical, sales and other support personnel as well as employees of third-party contractors doing sales, installation, maintenance and repair works) to travel and perform the necessary work as long as company ID or supporting certification is presented.
“Hence, as part of the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF), the DICT is requesting the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and other members of the IATF to allow uninterrupted access of linemen and servicemen, and that they be allowed to travel and perform their necessary work to ensure the unimpeded delivery of telecommunication services, and therefore, ensure the public of the availability of adequate internet and mobile connections to all sectors of the Philippine population,” the agency said.
