DOE Statement: Sec. Cusi on the ERC-Villa Issue

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Department of Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi has written a letter to Charie Villa offering the department's sincerest sympathies on the unexpected death of her brother, Atty. Francisco Villa.

He said the Department, together with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), is resolute in finding out the truth behind the allegations and issues raised.

"We need a strong energy regulator and a united energy family. Our strength should be based on the truth. As the leader of the sector, I enjoin everyone to be fair," Cusi said.

"We need to ensure that ERC personnel are able to recover immediately. They are also affected by the loss of their colleague but their service is needed by our country," Cusi said.

"I have spoken to the commissioners of the ERC. I am pleased that they too want to get to the bottom of this. I have assured them of the department's support in carrying out their mandate in protecting electricity consumers," Cusi said.

"This is a challenge for all of us. Our commitment to fairness and the truth will be tested. I am confident that we will come out stronger after this," Cusi said.

#SalamatApo: When the #MarcosBurial Was Done Like a Thief in the Night

Wazzup Pilipinas!

"The Marcoses fast tracked the burial to stop protests from snowballing and to stop a national conversation that was dangerous to their interests." - Inday Espina-Varona

The surprising Supreme Court (SC) decision to give the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos a hero's burial has triggered protests. It is a decision that has truly divided the nation. The SC said that it could not deny the former president his "rightful place" at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB). SC Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin says “President Marcos—being… a two-term President of the Philippines, a Medal of Valor awardee, a veteran of World War II, a former Senator and Senate President, and a former Congressman, by any of which was qualified to have his remains be interred in the LNMB.”

"Considering that the subject decision is not yet final and to foreclose the projected motion/s for reconsideration from being rendered moot by a precipitate burial of the late President Marcosin the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani, it is respectfully manifested and prayed that the Honorable Supreme Court may consider reissuing the status ante order."

But when we suddenly learned about the equally surprising and rushed, like a thief in the night, burial of his remains at the LNMB, we have to say that this country is beyond repair anymore. If we are talking about legalities, the SC decision was not yet final. There is still the Motion for Reconsideration (MR). So the Marcoses did defy the law in this case.

Petitioners against the burial of late dictator will file a motion to cite in contempt the Marcoses and the military for the "premature" interment of the late dictator, saying the SC's decision is not yet final. "They had hidden wealth, hidden human rights abuses and now a hidden burial - with complete disrespect for the rule of law."

PH User Per Cellsite Density Highest in Asia

Wazzup PIlipinas!

Amid continuing permitting challenges relating to the establishment of new facilities, telecommunication providers in the Philippines serve more customers per site compared to other operators Asia, Globe Telecom said.

According to Globe Chief Information & Technology Officer Gil Genio, user-per-site density in the Philippines is about 2,244, based on estimates of 21,000 total cell sites against internet users of around 47.1 million.

In Vietnam, which is similar in size to the Philippines, has a much lower user-per-site density of only 860, based on total number of cell sites of 55,000 against internet users of 47.3 million, which is also almost equal to the Philippines’ total internet users of 47.1 million. Malaysia, with total cell sites of 22,000 against internet users of 20.6 million has a user-per-site density of 937. Japan with 220,000 cell sites against internet users of 115 million has a user-per-site density of 522 while China with 1.18 million cell sites against internet users totaling 688 million, has a user-per-site density of 566.

Currently, Globe Telecom has a cell site backlog of around 3,000 sites owing to difficulties in securing permits from various local government units, homeowners associations and other government agencies, that cause considerable delay in the construction of such facilities, said Genio. According to him, at least 25 permits are needed to put up one cell sites and the permitting process takes at least 8 months to complete barring major concerns from various agencies. He stressed that construction of additional sites is critical in improving internet services in the country, pointing out that this will provide more bandwidth for local internet users.

While some special interest groups have proposed for the adoption of open access model in the Philippines, Genio emphasized that such policy is good only for mature economies with good infrastructure investments. The open access model allows the sharing the physical infrastructure across multiple operators which can contribute significantly to improving cost effectiveness.

In the country, however, such model should be applied only in industries where players contribute infrastructure investment on a reciprocal basis. “The problem is congestion because of disproportionate number of cell sites versus traffic. Tower sharing will not alleviate congestion as current sites are in same locations. Tower co-location will not solve anything if we maintain same number of cell sites; rather, we need to build more sites,” Genio emphasized.

To improve cell site per user density in the Philippines, the government needs to prioritize infrastructure builds for the telco industry. The government, particularly at the local level, should simplify the acquisition process for cell sites and rationalize permitting process including tower fees, he said. He also said spectrum management and monitoring by the National Telecommunications Commission is also important. “Spectrum allocation is a function of site density in order to serve customers effectively. Spectrum must not be left in the hands of private companies that do not use it to benefit consumers,” he said.

Genio said Globe also supports an update on the country’s ICT strategy and plan including the development of a national broadband plan to improve delivery of government services; promote process efficiencies for public service and provide WiFi services in public areas and internet connectivity in public schools. The company also supports calls for an amendment on existing laws as the Telecom Policy Act of 1935 and Republic Act 7925 or the Public Telecommunications Act of 1995 to reflect 21st century requirements and enable rationalization of the management, allocation or assignment of radio frequency spectrum in a manner that is transparent, fair, and economically efficient and effective, he added.