PLDT, Smart Reiterate Support for Gov’t Digital Transformation in Bagong Pilipinas Campaign

Leading integrated telco network PLDT Inc (PLDT) and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc (Smart) have reiterated their support for government initiatives to continuously streamline permitting processes for the rollout of telco infrastructure nationwide as part of the government's Bagong Pilipinas campaign.

PLDT and Smart expressed their renewed commitment to boost this overall government push at a recent Town Hall event organized by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA).

“PLDT and Smart continue to support the great strides accomplished by the ARTA and this administration in reducing the time, cost, requirements, and procedures of transacting with the government,” said Atty. Pamela B. Felizarta, Head of Joint Strategic Operations at Smart.

“Our whole-of-nation approach to improving bureaucratic efficiency involves empowering all levels of government, including the barangays, to see faster improvements in the delivery of services. This way, issues such as traffic, security, peace and order, and sanitation can be easily addressed, in keeping with the President's vision of a government that acts as a red carpet – welcoming and supportive for all Filipinos,” said ARTA Secretary Ernesto V. Perez.

Since 2019, PLDT and Smart have been working closely with ARTA, government agencies such as the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the National Telecommunications Commission, the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, local government units, and other industry stakeholders and telcos to streamline the process of securing permits for the construction and deployment of telco infrastructure.

“Working together, we were able to craft important policies and an executive issuance, paving the way for the faster rollout of telco infrastructure across the nation,” said Felizarta, citing key Joint Memorandum Circulars and the Executive Order No. 32 issued last year by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which streamlined the permitting process for the construction, installation, repair, operation and maintenance of telecommunications and Internet infrastructure in the country, and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

Previously, PLDT also supported ARTA's telco workshops, which aimed to further address the bottlenecks in the permitting, licensing, and authorizing process to improve connectivity which led to the issuance of the Guidelines for the construction and energization of distribution and associated equipment for the supply of power to telecommunications towers within the franchise of electric cooperatives, that seeks to reduce the processing time to 30 days.

This support is aligned with PLDT and Smart's longstanding partnership with the Government as a whole to narrow the digital divide, bringing the benefits of the internet closer to more Filipinos across the country, and contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), particularly on SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.