PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. said they are strengthening their partnership with the government to accelerate digital transformation and improve internet connectivity nationwide.
“With the streamlined rules in place, PLDT and Smart are reinforcing their support to the present administration’s digitalization goals by expanding reliable internet access to Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) through the “BroadBand ng Masa” program. In collaboration with the government and other major providers, PLDT and Smart aim to improve digital access in these areas,” said Smart vice president/department head for joint strategic operations and regulatory affairs Pamela Felizarta.
Executive Order No. 32, issued last year by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., streamlined the permitting process for the construction, installation, repair, operation and maintenance of telecommunications and Internet infrastructure in the country.
Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) Secretary Ernesto Perez lauded the partnerships between government and industry stakeholders as vital to the “full eradication of bureaucratic red tape and to the dawn of a new and prosperous Philippines.”
“For too long, excessive bureaucracy has slowed our country’s potential. Now, time once lost to inefficiency can be regained and reinvested in jobs, livelihoods and progress. This is the spirit of ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ and I thank all of you for joining us in this crusade,” Perez said.
Perez said that a year after its implementation, EO 32 reduced the time required to energize a telco tower to just 59 days, and driven a significant increase in the number of permits approved by local government units, which increased by 48 percent between May 2022 and May 2024.
“The ARTA has been at the forefront of these transformative efforts, making significant strides toward building a leaner, more efficient bureaucracy and reducing barriers for businesses of all sizes,” he said.
Felizarta reiterated PLDT’s and Smart’s support for the ARTA-led Electronic Business One Stop Shop (E-Boss) program through a recently signed Memorandum of Agreement to facilitate the establishment of E-Boss across the country through the provision of computer units and training.
“PLDT and Smart will continue to collaborate with ARTA and our partners in the Government, particularly with the LGUs, towards a full appreciation of EO 32 and its implementing rules and regulations, and we look forward to the enactment of local ordinances by the local government units, adopting in full the provisions of the implementing rules,” Felizarta said.
