THE telecommunications company should secure the pertinent regulatory permits from the Office of the Building Official (OBO) and City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) for the construction of their cell site tower projects in Bacolod City.
Councilor Al Victor Espino, chairperson of the City Council committee on information and communication technology, stressed this Tuesday, February 22, after the City Government already issued a notice of violations to Dito Telecommunity (Dito) for the construction of their cell site tower in Purok Himaya, Barangay Alijis.
OBO earlier served the notice of violation to Dito for violation of Section 301 of the decree which states that "No person, firm or corporation, including any agency or instrumentality of the government, shall erect, construct, alter, repair, move, convert or demolish any building or structure or cause the same to be done without first obtaining a building permit therefor from the Building Official assigned in the place where the subject building is located or the building work is to be done."
Espino said several residents in Purok Himaya have expressed their opposition for the construction of the cell site tower due to some concerns such as health hazard and the structural integrity.
But he said this was already addressed by the national government agencies such as the Department of Health, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), among others.
He said he already inspected the area and conducted a public consultation with the affected residents in Purok Himaya.
Espino noted that the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Anti-Red Tape Authority, DPWH, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Department of Health, and the FDA signed on July 23, 2020 a Joint Memorandum Circular streamlining requirements and reducing procedural delays in securing necessary permits, licenses, clearances, certificates and other requirements in constructing Shared Passive Telecommunications Tower Infrastructures or common towers-reducing processing time from more than 200 days to around 16 days.
"We already explained it to them, but the telecommunications company should also secure the pertinent regulatory permits before the construction of their cell site tower," he said.
He added he was informed that there was also a construction of cell site tower in Dona Juliana, Barangay Taculing, but he has yet to receive formal complaints from the residents in the area.
Espino said that next week, he will hold a public hearing to address the concern of the affected residents in Purok Himaya.