Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) acting secretary Manny Caintic said his agency will review existing protocols to address the concern of Independent Tower Companies (ITCs) that permits are still not being issued fast enough by government instrumentalities.
In a recent public consultation in Pasig City, Caintic vowed to streamline national government processes in accelerating the rollout connectivity infrastructure in the country.
During the consultation, the ITCs said that while application requirements were substantially lessened with the help of the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) that was agreed on in a previous consultation, some local government units (LGUs) are imposing their own set of requirements.
In response, Caintic urged the ITCs to make use of the “Tower Watch”, a dedicated platform established by the DICT where ITCs can submit their documentary requirements.
“We will be establishing a Technical Working Group that will collate and determine various concerns from the ITCs alongside bringing them to the attention of the concerned LGUs. We will be harnessing efforts from the different national government agencies,” he said.
Caintic also tasked the DICT’s regional offices to monitor tower construction within their jurisdictions and to make sure of documentary and building code compliance.
The DICT chief also proposed an automatic review mechanism that will make way for faster and transparent transactions amongst ITCs, LGUs, and the national government.
Caintic also tasked the DICT’s Information and Strategic Communications Division director Emmy Lou Delfin to strengthen its information dissemination campaign to debunk misinformation about the alleged health hazards caused by the towers.
DICT director Elias Omar Sana also stressed that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already issued a certification debunking the information that cell towers emit harmful radiation.
