Residents of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Officers Village Inc. (AFPOVAI) in Taguig City are opposing the plan of DITO Telecommunity Corp., the third telco player in the country, to build 5G cellular towers inside their village.
AFPOVAI is home to many retired and active military generals.
“We are not allowing it because it is at our expense. Health is a big factor,” Suzzanne Bangsil, an officer of the homeowners association and a resident of AFPOVAI’s Phase 2, told the Inquirer in a phone interview.
Bangsil said Dito wants to erect two 5G cellular sites along Duque and Bautista Streets inside the village’s Phase 2. This is among the 20 5G towers the company wants to put up in Taguig City, she said.
According to her, the residents of AFPOVAI are against the plan because of its negative effects to the residents’ health.
“The towers are not good for our health. Health is our number one priority,” Bangsil said, adding that the radiation from the towers is “carcinogenic.”
During the lockdown in March when movements were restricted, she claimed that representatives from Huawei conducted door to door visits to convince the residents about their plans.
“Who is giving them the authority to do that?” she asked.
AFPOVAI, she said, has eight phases with 4,000 lot owners.
Online petition
The residents also took their disapproval on the plan of putting up 5G towers in their village through an online petition, citing health and cybersecurity issues among others.
“We, the homeowners and members of AFPOVAI, Phase 2, Taguig City, would like to make known our opposition to the proposed construction of a DITO Telecom (HUAWEI) cell-site inside our village,” the petition read.
The residents said “the cell site poses long term risks to health conditions and wellness of our residents, especially those residing close to the proposed site.”
Residents also pointed out that many countries like the United States, Germany, Australia and Japan have raised cybersecurity issues on Huawei’s 5G network, which they said is the main backer of Dito Telecom.
“We take the position that such facility will do more harm than good for our community,” the petition read.
“We should take into account that around 40 residents are currently holding key positions in government, and the fact that our village is a community of ex-military officers. Further, AFPOVAI is in proximity to the Army, Navy and Air Force Headquarters within the periphery,” it added.
Why AFPOVAI
A retired military general, who lives in the village for more than 20 years now, also expressed concern about Dito’s plan.
“Actually, most of the homeowners here oppose the establishment of a Dito tower in the area or Huawei tower that’s why we had a hearing,” said the retired general, who spoke to the Inquirer on the condition of anonymity.
The “hearing” the retired general was referring to was the meeting between Huawei representatives and AFPOVAI residents on August 22.
While he said that the residents “are very particular on the health issue,” he was also worried about the cybersecurity risks of putting Huawei towers inside their village, which is near military camps.
“What is their basis why AFPOVAI? Of the many barangays in Taguig, why AFPOVAI? So we want statistics,” he asked, raising concern about the possible breach on data privacy.
“As what the homeowners are saying, that is where we are a bit concerned because your data privacy will be exposed,” he said.
“Other countries have opposed Huawei because of security puposes particularly on data privacy,” he cited.
“On the part of the Dito, we want them to explain their safety measures on our concerns,” he said, adding that some of the homeowners think the meeting was all “sales talk” as their concerns were not adequately answered.
Huawei ban
Some countries, including the United States, have banned the Chinese company Huawei because of possible exposure to espionage or sabotage.
The retired general said they also raised these concerns to the Huawei representatives during their meeting but the officials explained that the allegations were merely due to “business rivalry.”
“They said it was jut a business rivalry because Huawei, particularly China is getting ahead of the US so they are blocking it, they are making issues about it,” he said.
During the meeting, Bangsil said “we were told” that telco companies won’t need written consent from private homeowners associations to proceed with the building of cellular sites.
Present during the meeting were Engr. Sancho “Choy” Sanchez, the team leader of Huawei and engineers Bryan De Jesus and Vince Encisa, said Bangsil.
“[But] they proceeded with the dialogue for us potential clients to be convinced. But of course, no one is stopping us from doing what we think is right,” she said.
According to Bangsil, the Huawei officials even said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is okay with their plan.
The Huawei officials could be referring to the 2019 agreement between the AFP and DITO to allow the telecommunication company to build its communication facilities inside military camps and installations.
AFP spokesperson Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo has allayed fears of the public, saying that Dito had “passed through government scrutiny when it comes to its fitness to do business in the Philippines.”
Telco tower permit
The Department of the Interior and Local Government together with the Anti-Red Tape Authority and other government agencies has recently released a joint memorandum circular (JMC), streamlining the application process for permits to build telecommunication towers.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año earlier said securing permits for telco companies would now be reduced to less than a month from the previous six to seven months.
“Before it would need resolutions from the homeowners’ association, sangguniang bayan, but now it won’t be needed. Any step that will slow down the process has been removed,” Año said.
Secretary Eduardo del Rosario of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) also backed Año’s statement, saying the agency has removed the need to go through homeowners association to expedite the application process for securing permits.
Among the reduced requirements in securing permits are barangay clearance, documentary requirements for building permit applications on common towers such as Unified Application Form for Locational Permit, Fire Safety Evaluation Certificate, Building Permit, property documents from owners or authorized occupants of registered or untitled lands and select ancillary permit and accessory permit requirements.
The joint memorandum came after President Duterte warned the two dominant telecommunication companies in the country, PLDT Smart and Globe Telecom, to shape up by December this year or face expropriation.
Mr. Duterte’s threat came as the third telco player, China-backed DITO Telecommunity, prepares for its commercial rollout in the country.
Duterte’s friend
DITO Telecommunity, owned by Udenna Corp. of Davao businessman Dennis Uy and state-run China Telecom, is expected to launch commercially in March 2021.
Uy, the president of independent oil company Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, is a known friend of Mr. Duterte even during his days as Davao City mayor.
The businessman has contributed P30 million to Mr. Duterte’s campaign to Malacañang in 2016.
In November 2018, the National Telecommunications Commission disclosed that the Udenna-China Telecom consortium won the bidding for the third telco player in the country.
Last week, the House of Representatives approved the 25-year franchise bid of DITO, which is set to expire on April 24, 2023.
Aside from his telco business, Uy is also the chairman of logistics company 2GO Group, Inc. and has expanded into the media and entertainment business after forming the Udenna Communications Media and Entertainment Holdings Corp.
In November 2019, Uy announced that Udenna Corp. had bought the 45-percent stake of international petroleum giant Chevron in the Malampaya gas field in Palawan.
In February this year, Uy got the government’s approval, through the Philippine Competition Commission, to buy out Chevron.