THE Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) said it will include fiber optics and broadcast tower projects to its list of telecommunications works where the permit process requires streamlining.
The regulator and other government agencies last year released a circular ordering the reduction in the number of permits for building common cell towers.
ARTA said in a statement Wednesday that it will release a supplemental circular next month to streamline the permit process for fiber optics and broadcast tower projects as well.
ARTA Director General Jeremiah B. Belgica said local governments are “confused” about how to harmonize the previous circular and the provisions of Bayanihan II or Republic Act No. 11494 in terms of expediting cell tower construction by suspending certain requirements.
“In order to address this, we’ve been working with the other signatories to come up with a supplemental joint memorandum circular,” he said.
The agency is working with the Department of Information and Communications Technology to develop the circular, and it has been consulting with representatives from local governments and the private sector.
Republic Act No. 11032 or The Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, requires government agencies to meet three types of deadlines: three working days for simple transactions, seven for complex transactions, and 20 for highly technical applications. — Jenina P. Ibañez