Globe granted 190 tower permits in August

In a statement, Globe said of the 190 permits granted, 37 were issued in record time by 17 LGUs. (PNA File Photo)

MANILA – Telecommunications giant Globe Telecom (Globe) on Thursday announced it has secured a total of 190 permits from 85 local government units (LGUs) in August to build cell sites in different parts of the country.

In a statement, Globe said of the 190 permits granted, 37 were issued in record time by 17 LGUs.

It attributed the faster issuance of permits on the recently signed Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 01 2020 released in July that sought the streamlining of permits and other documents to reduce delays in the construction of common towers.

“With the implementation of the JMC, we see that LGUs are actively working together with telcos [telecommunications companies] to improve connectivity. Even the LGUs themselves are following up on the status of our permits and how soon we can start the installation of cell towers,” said Joel Agustin, Globe senior vice president for Program Delivery, Network Technical Group.

Agustin said he expects more support from LGUs in the future through the JMC which aims to shorten the processing of tower requirements from an average of 200 days to only 16 days.

“We expect more LGUs to support us because, at the end of the day, they can best serve their constituents through connectivity and use of technology especially at this time,” Agustin said.

He said the LGUs that granted early permits include Agoo, Bangued, Binalonan, Sto. Domingo and Vigan in Northern Luzon; San Pablo, Sto. Tomas, San Jose, Mendez, Rosario, and Magdalena in Southern Tagalog; Las Pinas; Angono and Teresa in Rizal; Victorias and Sta.

Barbara in Visayas and Butuan in Mindanao.

Globe’s network rollout is further boosted, he noted, after more than 40 LGUs removed the requirement to secure a permit from their respective Sanggunian Bayan before the construction of a cell tower.