Council wants Telco’s to submit underground cabling plans

December 12, 2020 Metro BLISTT

The city council, in a resolution, has called on all telecommunications companies operating in the city to submit their existing and/or proposed underground fiber-optic cabling plans to the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) for review, recommendation, and proper coordination with the city council.
Councilor Mylen Victoria Yaranon, main author of the resolution and Chairperson of Sanggunian’s Committee on Public Works, said the companies’ underground fiberoptic cabling projects help decongest the city’s crowded utility poles.
However, there are reports of ongoing excavation for the purpose of installing underground fiber-optic cables resulting in a number of complaints of residents on traffic and other inconveniences, the councilor claimed.
Yaranon said compelling the telcos to submit their plans for underground fiber-optic cabling will allow the CPDO and the city council to formulate policies that will balance the need for technological advancement and the convenience of the citizenry. The council resolution came forth after the forum between the city council and representatives of DITO Telecommunity Corporation. The Dito Telecom representatives informed the body that the telco has already started excavating and laying underground fiber-optic cables in certain parts of the city.
Several council members said they had no prior knowledge regarding this matter.
In the same forum, Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan reminded Dito Telecom to get in touch with the city government and lay out their plans first before proceeding with the project.
“The officialdom of the City Government of Baguio has the right to know about these projects to be implemented in the city. We should be informed so that we can be of help in any way we can. Transparency is very important,” Olowan stressed.
The resolution cited Section 476 of Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991 which states that the City Planning and Development Office of a local government unit initiates the formulation and oversees the implementation of a people powered comprehensive development planning effort for the city to achieve an improved quality of life.
Jordan G. Habbiling/ABN