Telco permit EO is great but strict, immediate implementation is critical
July 24, 2023
CitizenWatch Philippines lauds the issuance of Executive Order 32 but urges the government to immediately and strictly implement it for the benefit of ordinary consumers nationwide.
Upgrading our digital infrastructure to global standards will empower our government, industries, and most of all, our people to compete and excel in a highly digitized global economy.
EO 32, which streamlines the process for establishing telco and other internet infrastructure, is a responsive policy move that will eliminate bureaucratic red tape that has delayed the building of telecommunications infrastructure for faster and reliable broadband services for all.
Telcos used to deal with a bureaucratic gauntlet every time they applied for permits to establish towers and other infrastructure in local governments. Their hands were tied by all these requirements. And yet it was them [the telcos] that got the ire of the public when the services were poor.
In several statements, President Marcos himself has said he wants to enable the Filipino people to participate in the digital transformation of the nation. EO 32 is a means to this end.
Specifically, moving forward, we hope that EO 32 would push all the ongoing digital infrastructure projects such as the DICT’s long delayed Luzon Bypass Infrastructure Project and the cable landing stations of the 12,800-kilometer Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN), that when activated, will lower the cost and improve the speed of broadband services.
We cannot afford to have spotty and uneven access to internet services if we want to develop a productive and innovative digital workforce instead of just being heavy users and consumers of broadband services.
We also laud the Private Sector Advisory Council and the Anti-Red Tape Authority for successfully pushing for the release of the EO.
Full and immediate implementation of the EO will sustain the country’s initial gains in digitalization and will allow more Filipinos to become digitally empowered.
As a result of the EO, government agencies, LGUs, and their employees now have no choice but to do things a bit differently from how they have been traditionally performing their tasks.
The economic empowerment that will be stimulated by a well implemented National Broadband Program will positively impact the productivity of enterprises and livelihoods at all levels of society.
As we anticipate the DICT’s timely action on the Implementing Rules and Regulations, we call on all relevant government agencies, all local governments, and communities relevant to strictly comply with the streamlining provisions of EO32.
We saw how technology helped us survive the toughest days of the lockdown three years ago. There is no turning back, only to move forward, and to move fast.