DICT urges Congress to sanction subdivisions that prevent cell site construction

Information and Communications Technology Secretary Rodolfo Salalima on Friday called on lawmakers to pass a law imposing sanctions on homeowners' associations which will prevent the government and private firms from building telecommunications infrastructure inside their gated subdivisions.

The DICT has already drafted a proposed measure allowing telecommunications firms to construct cell sites inside private villages and subdivisions, citing that one of the hindrances in building sufficient telco infrastructure was the private villages' objection to allow some of their lands to be used for such purpose.

"I will call on Congressman [Victor] Yap to request his colleagues to pass a law or legislation stating that telecommunications is a basic human right and any board or association preventing the construction of facilities inside subdivisions to improve telecommunications is in fact violating the rights of the residents of that subdivision to telecommunication," Salalima said during the official launching of the government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) in Manila.

"Better we impose sanctions on these uncooperative Filipinos," he added.

Yap, the representative of the 2nd District of Tarlac, is the chairman of House Committee on Information and Communications Technology.

The draft bill junks the need for approval by homeowners associations when it comes to using "utility space" for telecommunications facilities, infrastructure and other similar facilities and amenities.

"It would now be up for the legislation to make appropriate sanctions because that is a matter of policy," Salalima said.

"Sa akin lang, we do recognize that the right to communicate is a basic human right and my point is some people are preventing the government from installing these facilities. It should not be because in effect you are violating their right to access better telecommunications services," he added.

To underscore the importance of building more cell sites, the ICT chief earlier said the Philippines only has 16,300 cell sites compared with 70,000 in Vietnam and 86,000 in Indonesia.