It was revealed during the regular session of the Fourteenth Sangguniang Panlungsod, led by Hon. Vice Mayor Jose Antonio S. Veloso, last January 15, that the residents of Barangay Booy vehemently opposed the issuance of a building permit for the construction of a Telecom tower in an area along Graham Ave., Booy District, Tagbilaran City.Engr. Gina B. Inting of the Office of the Building Official informed the august body that the building permit was granted last November 27, 2020, which was way before the opposition was expressed. It is to be reiterated that the joint memorandum from different government agencies providing the guidelines in streamlining the issuance of permits and licenses for the construction of Telecom towers was promulgated last July 23, 2020. The salient features of this memorandum included the removal of the Sangguniang Panlungsod and Barangay Resolutions, and the Home Owners Association (HOAs) Neighbors consent as pre-requisites in securing the locational clearance. Furthermore, if the cell tower’s proposed location is outside an environmentally critical area, the builder will no longer need to get an environmental compliance certificate as well.Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health assured the public that an evaluation is done prior to the installation of antennas to determine its safety, and that there are no adverse effects from typical exposure to radio frequency radiation (RFR). Thus, whatever reactions generated from the local legislative body and the community due to the construction of a cell tower can be made only as expressions of their sentiments to these projects, but are no longer needed for the issuance of the building permit.The Fourteenth Sangguniang Panlungsod resolved to urge DITO to conduct community meetings, lectures and dialogues with the residents directly affected by the construction of these cell towers, as part of their social responsibility and for the benefit of the community in general.The discussion was led by Hon. Nerio D. Zamora II, Chairman of the Committee on Information and Communications Technology.
