LMP supports Duterte’s call to eliminate red tape

The League of Municipalities of the Philippines is supporting President Rodrigo Duterte's call to streamline the permitting process for the construction of Telco Towers throughout the country.

In a statement, the LMP said it had come up with a support mechanism to assist Telcos in coordinating with its 1,488 member-municipalities.

This aims to simplify and hasten the permitting procedures, eliminate red tape, and ensure expeditious construction of the telecommunication towers and the laying down of fiber cable lines in their areas of jurisdiction, said LMP President Luis Singson, mayor of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur.

In a statement, LMP said: “As the LMP National President, I have already instructed our National Secretariat to setup a dedicated desk and assign necessary manpower for this purpose.

“We call on our telecommunication companies, like Globe and Smart, to coordinate with the LMP National Secretariat so that we can assist and forward their concerns to our Municipal Mayors.

“Reality on the ground reveals that these Telcos depend on competing private contractors leveraging with private lot owners, home owners associations (HOAs), barangay officials, and LGU personnel to corner the contract from the Telcos concerned.”

According to the LMP, the coordination between the Telcos and the LMP National Secretariat  would eliminate the unnecessary lobbying of self-vested individuals who namedrop these Telcos and unreasonably derail the process at the initial stage, even prior to the permitting process.

It said the LMP would also work hand in hand with the Anti-Red Tape Authority in downloading JMC No. 01-2020 and other issuances and steadily coordinate with the ARTA in encouraging municipal LGUs to come up with streamlined frameworks for issuing permits to Telcos.

The statement said: “Part of the support mechanism is LMP’s regular and constant monitoring of member-LGU’s diligent compliance with ARTA issuances especially on the status of processing and issuance of permits to Telcos within the reglementary period.

“The LMP and its member-municipalities express its unwavering commitment to support the President’s call for better telecommunications services in the country and guarantee ease of doin business towards efficient delivery of services to our people.