Globe Telecom Inc. and Aboitiz Group have urged government to push forward and persist on the path of bureaucracy efficiency by extending the streamlined procedure for obtaining permits, licenses, and certifications for the building of telecommunications infrastructure.
The Ayala- and Aboitiz-led companies on Thursday renewed their call for the government to institutionalize the joint memorandum circular (JMC) of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) as mandated under Republic Act No. 11032 amending Republic Act No. 9485 or the Anti Red Tape Act of 2007.
The JMC, which expires in September, mandates the adoption of simplified requirements and procedures that cuts red tape and expedite business and non-business-related transactions in government.
Ernest Cu, Glober president and chief executive, said Aboitiz and the telco are working hard to ensure the joint memorandum continues beyond September of this year.
“We constantly remind the President during every PSAC [Private Sector Advisory Council] meeting,” he said.
Cu recalled the importance of internet connectivity at the height of the global health pandemic.
He said with the ARTA streamlining the permitting process paved the way for the completion of close to 4,500 Globe cell sites between 2020 and 2022, which was twice as fast as the network built from 2017 to 2019 and more efficiently than in previous years.
In a separate development but in line with government’s tower-sharing policy, Globe has partnered with Unity, which is a collaboration between Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. and Partners Group, for the sale of 447 cell towers worth P5.4 billion.
