An infrastructure-oriented thinktank said that no less than President Rodrigo Duterte is leading the regulatory capture of the country’s major public firms, after blasting ABS-CBN and telco companies during his fifth State of the Nation Address.
“There is no more going around this: The President himself is leading the attack on regulated sectors on the flimsiest reasons. This does not in anyway advance the public interest: it impinges economic growth, undermines confidence in the economy and violates the sanctity of contracts. Improving telco services without government support will not happen by December 2020.”
This was the statement of Terry Ridon, Infrawatch PH convenor and Mr. Duterte’s former urban poor chief.
At least 25 permits for one cell tower
Ridon, who was a former House ICT member, said poor telco services are not due to underinvestment by telcos alone.
”If President Rodrigo Duterte is serious about improving telco services, he should order national agencies and local governments to expedite the approval of at least 25 regulatory permits for the building of a single cell tower.”
Ridon said these permits have stood as significant roadblocks in improving telco services around the country.
“Each and every regulatory permit requires dealing with a separate set of government officials, with different ways of interpreting law and regulation. Worse, some are more interested in ‘illicit transactions’ for these permits. The President’s Christmas deadline is unrealistic and would open the floodgates of further illicit transactions.”
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“The current backlog stands at 30,000 cell towers. Doing the math, it does not take a rocket scientist to understand that the target will not be reached by December 2020.”
Ridon said the President’s unrealistic pronouncement in the guise of public interest will only subject telcos to further regulatory vulnerabilities.
“All it takes is for one permit to get delayed for whatever reason in the world. By December, if 30,000 towers are not built, the predicate for franchise cancellation shall have been reached. And for what? Similar to ABS-CBN, services will not have been improved. Worse, there will be no telco services.”
Dito tower experience: only 300 cell towers
A week before its now rescheduled technical launch, Dito Telecommunity said the company only has 300 operational cell sites out of the 1,300 sites currently being built.
“Dito’s one thousand new cell towers is certainly a tall order in a few months. Imagine, Mr. President, you are now asking the telco sector to build a significant number of towers until December. You are setting the telco sector for failure. You are setting the telco sector for capture.”