A DAVAO City councilor is urging telecommunications companies and national government agencies to address persistent signal dead spots in remote communities, particularly in the Buhangin and Paquibato districts.
Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, in a proposed resolution during the 36th Regular Session of the 21st City Council on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, called on Globe Telecom Inc., Smart Communications Inc., the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to prioritize network expansion in Barangay Callawa and Barangay Fatima.
Dayanghirang cited long-standing complaints from residents of Callawa, Fatima, and nearby upland and coastal communities about frequent service interruptions, network congestion, and areas with no cellular coverage.
“The lack of reliable connectivity creates a digital divide and may further contribute to social and economic inequality, particularly in geographically remote, upland, coastal, rural, disaster-prone, and otherwise underserved communities of the City,” the resolution stated.
To address the coverage gaps, the proposed measure calls on the NTC, DICT, and local government units to conduct a citywide mapping of unserved and underserved areas. The data would help guide future telecommunications infrastructure.
The resolution also encourages service providers to consider shared passive towers, fiber-optic networks and satellite technology, in addition to conventional cell sites, to reach communities in difficult terrain.
Dayanghirang also cited local permitting and land-access requirements as barriers that have delayed tower construction in some upland barangays in Districts 2 and 3.
To help speed up deployment, the resolution asks city and barangay officials to identify suitable government properties that could host telecommunications facilities and streamline local clearance procedures.
Copies of the proposed resolution will be forwarded to the City Mayor’s Office, NTC, DICT, Department of the Interior and Local Government, affected barangays, and telecommunications companies for evaluation. GRS
