OFWs demand scrapping of PhilHealth amid latest scandal
“The widespread corruption in the government is the reason why OFWs are strongly against the planned mandatory PhilHealth and premium rate hike. OFWs cannot entrust the government that their hard-earned money will benefit their families and the rest of the Filipino people.”
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Migrant workers in different parts of the world are indignant over the recent controversy surrounding Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
Members of Migrante International held a global online rally on Aug. 11, Tuesday to express their rage against the billions of pesos plundered by high officials of Philhealth. Their call: “Public health not private wealth.”
The OFWs called for accountability of PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer, retired general Ricardo Morales and others involved in the corruption which they described as the “crime of the year.”
They lamented that the billions of pesos that were plundered by PhilHealth officials could have been spent for the Filipinos who are in crisis brought about by the pandemic.
Joanna Concepcion, chairperson of Migrante, said the widespread corruption in the government is the reason why OFWs are strongly against the planned mandatory PhilHealth and premium rate hike. She said that OFWs cannot entrust the government that their hard-earned money will benefit their families and the rest of the Filipino people.
Read: Overseas Filipinos worldwide slam mandatory Philhealth, call it ‘legalized robbery’
‘Mandatory PhilHealth is a scam’
The OFWs said PhilHealth has no use for them and their families. According to the different Migrante chapters abroad, OFWs are covered by health programs in the countries where they are employed.
Seafarers and their families, for instance, enjoy a complete health care package from their companies.
Lawyer Edwin Dela Cruz of International Seafarers’ Action Center (ISAC) explained that it is stipulated in the seafarer’s contract that any illnesses and injuries sustained in accidents and even death are covered by the insurance provided by the shipowner and the agency.
Dela Cruz said this why the mandatory Philhealth among OFWs is a scam.
For example, he said, a seafarer and his agency would pay Philhealth dues of P6,000 (US$123) each for a 11-month contract or a total of P12,000 (US$246).
He added that if a company has a union, union dues are also deducted from their salary and hospitalization packages are also included in their benefits.
Fr. June Mark Yanez of the Iglesia Filipino Independiente’s Seamen’s Mission in Germany also said that the mandatory Philhealth for OFWs is unnecessary. He said that upon his visits to the seafarers in Germany, many of them also have health insurance provided by the company.
He said mandatory Philhealth is a form of duplication. “What is the use of Philhealth if they have health insurance provided by the company and the host country?” he said.
There is also a universal health program in Canada, said Migrante-Canada secretary general Perry Sorio. Migrant workers are also covered by the program. Migrante-Canada meanwhile makes ways to help those who are not covered by the health program.
The same goes for migrant workers,students as well as those who have dual citizenship in Europe. Marlon Lacsamana, secretary general of Migrante-Europe said this is why they are firm that mandatory PhilHealth should never be implemented.
In the Philhealth Circular No. 2020-0014, OFWs who are mandated to pay premium include land-based OFWs, seafarers and other sea-based workers, Filipinos with dual citizenship, Filipinos living abroad, overseas Filipinos in distress and other overseas Filipinos not previously classified elsewhere.
PhilHealth premiums to be paid by OFWs will be based on their income. They are also required to remit three percent of their annual salaries and by 2021, their contribution will be increased to 3.5 percent. This will be increased annually until the amount reaches five percent by 2024.
For now, the government has put on hold the collection of premiums from the OFWs following massive protests around the world.
Read: Suspension not enough, scrap mandatory Philhealth for OFWs – group
Health as business
Dela Cruz said the government has made business out of health services in the country.
He added that instead of using tax to provide basic social services to the people, the government has implemented neoliberal policies and privatized social services like health.
“Tax should be spent for the social services such as health, education and housing, and not premiums that the government is collecting through PhilHealth because that becomes business,” he said.
Dela Cruz said OFWs became an easy target for schemes like this because they will not be allowed to leave the country to work abroad if they will not adhere.
Dr. Delen Dela Paz of Health Alliance of Democracy (HEAD), meanwhile, said that Philhealth is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) which is run like a private agency. This is why its main resources are from fees collected from its members in exchange for health services which are limited.
However, PhilHealth has not ensured that funds are properly used for the benefit of the people, she said.
Read: PhilHealth militarization, ‘ghost’ claims reflect problems in health services
‘Hold them accountable’
Sheila Tebia of Migrante Hong Kong said it is enraging that while Filipinos continue to live in crisis in the time of the pandemic, PhilHealth officials “live in luxury using taxpayers’ money.”
Read: Duterte urged to hold ‘Philhealth mafia’ accountable for alleged P15B corruption
She called on fellow OFWs to not let this pass “just like the other erring officials like former Customs Chief Nicanor Faeldon who was implicated in illegal drugs in the Bureau of Customs.”
She said that Faeldon was transferred to another agency instead of being punished.
The post OFWs demand scrapping of PhilHealth amid latest scandal appeared first on Bulatlat.
“… even when your hands are empty, your hearts remain full.” (Love letter to Filipinos from an American)
By David H. Harwell, PhD
I am writing to thank Filipinos for the way you have treated me here, and to pass on a lesson I learned from observing the differences between your culture and mine over the years.
I am an expatriate worker. I refer to myself as an OAW, an overseas American worker, as a bad joke. The work I do involves a lot of traveling and changing locations, and I do it alone, without family. I have been in 21 countries now, not including my own. It was fun at first. Now, many years later, I am getting tired. The Philippines remains my favorite country of all, though, and I’d like to tell you why before I have to go away again.
I have lived for short periods here, traveled here, and have family and friends here. My own family of origin in the United States is like that of many Americans—not much of a family. Americans do not stay very close to their families, geographically or emotionally, and that is a major mistake. I have long been looking for a home and a family, and the Philippines is the only place I have lived where people honestly seem to understand how important their families are.
I am American and hard-headed. I am a teacher, but it takes me a long time to learn some things. But I’ve been trying, and your culture has been patient in trying to teach me.
In the countries where I’ve lived and worked, all over the Middle East and Asia, it is Filipinos who do all the work and make everything happen. When I am working in a new company abroad, I seek out the Filipino staff when I need help getting something done, and done right. Your international reputation as employees is that you work hard, don’t complain, and are very capable. If all the Filipinos were to go home from the Middle East, the world would stop. Oil is the lifeblood of the world, but without Filipinos, the oil will not come from the ground, it will not be loaded onto the ships, and the ships will not sail. The offices that make the deals and collect the payments will not even open in the morning. The schools will not have teachers, and, of course, the hospitals will have no staff.
What I have seen, that many of you have not seen, is how your family members, the ones who are overseas Filipino workers, do not tell you much about how hard their lives actually are. OFWs are very often mistreated in other countries, at work and in their personal lives. You probably have not heard much about how they do all the work but are severely underpaid, because they know that the money they are earning must be sent home to you, who depend on them. The OFWs are very strong people, perhaps the strongest I have ever seen. They have their pictures taken in front of nice shops and locations to post on Facebook so that you won’t worry about them. But every Pinoy I have ever met abroad misses his/her family very, very much.
I often pity those of you who go to America. You see pictures of their houses and cars, but not what it took to get those things. We have nice things, too many things, in America, but we take on an incredible debt to get them, and the debt is lifelong. America’s economy is based on debt. Very rarely is a house, car, nice piece of clothing, electronic appliance, and often even food, paid for. We get them with credit, and this debt will take all of our lifetime to pay. That burden is true for anyone in America—the OFWs, those who are married to Americans, and the Americans themselves.
Most of us allow the American Dream to become the American Trap. Some of you who go there make it back home, but you give up most of your lives before you do. Some of you who go there learn the very bad American habits of wanting too many things in your hands, and the result is that you live only to work, instead of working only to live. The things we own actually own us. That is the great mistake we Americans make in our lives. We live only to work, and we work only to buy more things that we don’t need. We lose our lives in the process.
I have sometimes tried to explain it like this: In America, our hands are full, but our hearts are empty.
You have many problems here, I understand that. Americans worry about having new cars, Filipinos worry about having enough food to eat. That’s an enormous difference. But do not envy us, because we should learn something from you. What I see is that even when your hands are empty, your hearts remain full.
I have many privileges in the countries where I work, because I am an expat. I do not deserve these things, but I have them. However, in every country I visit, I see that you are there also, taking care of your families, friends, bosses, and coworkers first, and yourselves last. And you have always taken care of me, in this country and in every other place where I have been.
These are places where I have been very alone, very tired, very hungry, and very worried, but there have always been Filipinos in my offices, in the shops, in the restaurants, in the hospitals, everywhere, who smile at and take good care of me. I always try to let you know that I have lived and traveled in the Philippines and how much I like your country. I know that behind those smiles of yours, here and abroad, are many worries and problems.
Please know that at least one of us expats has seen what you do for others and understands that you have a story behind your smiles. Know that at least one of us admires you, respects you, and thanks you for your sacrifices. Salamat po. Ingat lagi. Mahal ko kayong lahat.
David H. Harwell, PhD, is a former professor and assistant dean in the United States who now travels and works abroad designing language training programs. He is a published author and a son of a retired news editor.
Around 2.34 million students from private schools have not enrolled, unaccounted
Coordinating Council of Private Educational Association (COCOPEA) Managing Director Joseph Noel Estrada said in a media interview today that of the 4.3 million student population of private schools in the previous school year, only 1.2 million have re-enrolled, while 400,000 were known to have transferred to public schools as per the Department of Education (DepEd), […]
The post Around 2.34 million students from private schools have not enrolled, unaccounted appeared first on Manila Today.
Baby separated from mother after court rejects appeal
“Amid the pandemic and the modified enhanced community quarantine, authorities are pushing for the heartless and inhuman act of separating a baby from her only source of nutrition and protection at this early stage of her life.”
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Political prisoner Reina Mae Nasino’s baby has been separated from her after the Manila Regional Trial Court rejected her appeal to let her take care of the baby for a year.
Today, Aug. 13, Manila City Jail Female Dorm warden, Chief Inspector Ignacia Monteron ordered the removal of Baby River from the jail facility. The baby was fetched by her grandmother Marites Asis this afternoon.
“It is really painful that they are being separated. I can feel what my daughter is feeling,” Asis said in a statement.
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers called the separation of Nasino and her daughter as the “height of heartlessness.”
“Amid the pandemic and the modified enhanced community quarantine, authorities are pushing for the heartless and inhuman act of separating a baby from her only source of nutrition and protection at this early stage of her life,” the NUPL said in a statement.
“The irony is the government is celebrating Breastfeeding Awareness Month this August under Section 12 of RA 11028 or the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009. Under this law, all government agencies have the duty to uphold children’s right to their mothers’ breastmilk,” the lawyers’ group added.
The court ruled that lactation facilities which will enable Nasino to express milk are not the concern of the jail.
The NUPL added that under the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act of 2018 ot RA 11148, mother and child should “not be separated for early breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding, which is part of the strengthened integrated strategy for maternal, neonatal, child health and nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life.”
Meanwhile, Asis asked the Supreme Court to decide on the petition filed last April for the humanitarian release of 22 political prisoners who are elderly and medically vulnerable to the COVID-19. Nasino is one of the 22 political prisoners in the said petition.
The post Baby separated from mother after court rejects appeal appeared first on Bulatlat.
Manila City Jail separates political prisoner Reina Nasino from baby
On August 13, the Manila City Jail (MCJ) Female Dormitory ordered to separate political prisoner Reina Mae Nasino’s 1-month old infant from her, despite her appeal to continue caring for her child. According to Nasino’s legal counsel, the order to remove her child was from MCJ Female Dorm warden Supt. Maria Ignacia Monteron. Nasino said […]
The post Manila City Jail separates political prisoner Reina Nasino from baby appeared first on Manila Today.
People skipping 14-day home quarantine to face fines
Persons who will break the 14-day home quarantine as part of protocol for Covid-19 testing will now be penalized according to an ordinance passed by the City Council last August 11.
Balak ng rehimeng Duterte sa industriya ng telekomunikasyon
PW 18-19
Nabalot ng takot ang isang komunidad ng mga residente sa isang barangay sa Calamba, Laguna nang mabalitaan nila ang pagtatayo ng isang cell tower sa isang kapirasong lupang malapit sa kanila nitong Hulyo.
Isa ang bahay ni Andrea (di-tunay na ngalan) sa pinakamalapit sa konstruksiyon. Naalala niya, taong 2018 pa, may lumapit na kinatawan ng ZTE Corp., isang kompanya ng telekomunikasyon mula sa China. Nag-alok ito na upahan ang lupain nila.
Noong gabing iyon, nanaliksik siya sa Internet. Napag-alaman ni Andrea na may panganib sa kalusugan ang mga cell site na masyadong malapit (di-lalayo sa 300 metro) sa mga tao. Tumanggi siya. Pero ngayong Hulyo, nalaman na lang niya, at ng mga kapitbahay niya, may naupahang lupa ang ZTE: di-lalayo sa 30 metro sa bahay nina Andrea.
“Walang public hearing hinggil dito,” kuwento ni Andrea. “May ilang napapirma sa consent letter na hindi alam ang kumpletong litrato o walang kaalam-alam kung ano ang pinirmahan nila.”
Sa barangay, mahigit 20 silang humarap sa kinatawan ng ZTE. Mayabang umano ang mga kinatawang ito. Matigas ang posisyon nila: “May permit na ang pagpapatayo. Hindi na ninyo mapipigilan ito.” Tumaas ang boses at naging emosyonal ang magkakapitbahay. Tumindig ang barangay na dapat ipatigil ang konstruksiyon.
Mahigit dalawang linggo ang nagdaan. Sa pambansang antas, nagbigay ng State of the Nation Address (SONA) si Pangulong Duterte. Kinastigo niya ang dalawang malalaking telecommunications company (telcos) na Globe at PLDT Inc./Smart sa aniya’y pangit na serbisyo nito, lalo na sa pagbibigay ng akses sa Internet sa mga Pilipino.
“Pakiayos ang mga serbisyo ninyo bago ang Disyembre. Gusto kong tawagan si Hesukristo sa Bethlehem. Kailangan klaro ang linya,” seryoso pero pabirong sabi ni Duterte, sa wikang Ingles, sa kanyang SONA.
Matapos ang ilang araw, laking gulat nina Andrea: Nagtuloy ang konstruksiyon ng cell tower. “Wala kayong magagawa, Malakanyang na ang nagsabi,” pagmamayabang diumano ng mga taga-ZTE.
Kuwestiyon sa prangkisa
Isa lang ang ZTE Corp. sa ilang kompanya na nakontrata ng Dito Telecommunity (Dito Telecom) na magtayo sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa ng cell sites o cell towers. Ito’y matapos bigyan ito ng Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) ng Department of Information and Communications Technology at National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
(Maaalalang nasangkot ang ZTE Corp. sa isiniwalat na US$329-M suhol diumano sa administrasyong Arroyo noong 2007 para makuha ang kontrata sa pagtayo ng isang National Broadband Network o NBN.)
Sa Malakanyang mismo, noong Hulyo 8, 2019, iginawad sa noo’y Mislatel Consortium ang CPCN. Ito’y para buwagin diumano ang duopolyo (dominasyon ng dalawang dambuhalang kompanya) ng Globe at Smart/PLDT sa industriya ng telco. Pinangunahan mismo ni Pangulong Duterte sa Palasyo ang paggawad sa Mislatel ng CPCN.
Pero bago pa man ang paggawad ng CPCN sa Mislatel, marami na ang kumuwestiyon sa operasyon nito – pati na rin sa mismong pagkuha ni Dennis Uy ng kontrol sa prangkisa nito.
Ang orihinal kasing Mislatel ay Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company, na ginawaran ng prangkisa para mag-opereyt bilang kompanyang telco noong Abril 1998, sa bisa ng Republic Act No. 8627. Pero matapos ang paggawad ng prangkisa, hindi ito agad nakapag-opereyt sa loob ng isang taon – na isang kondisyon sa prangkisa nito.
Taong 2015 nang bilhin ito ng bagong grupo ng shareholders, pangunahin na si Nicanor Escalante, na naging presidente at chief executive officer (CEO) nito. Kilalang may-ari din si Escalante ng mga operasyon ng pagmimina sa Mindanao. Sa pagdinig sa Senado noong 2019 hinggil sa prangkisa ng Mislatel, sinabi ni Escalante na totoong walang “aktuwal na operasyon” na isinagawa ang kompanya noong binili nila ito dahil hindi raw maganda ang “peace and order situation” sa Parang, Maguindanao kung saan dapat nag-oopereyt ang Mislatel.
Para kay Sen. Franklin Drilon, na nandoon sa pagdinig sa Senado, wala nang bisa dapat ang prangkisa ng Mislatel dahil sa kawalan nito ng operasyon. Sinang-ayunan din ito ng resource persons sa mga pagdinig na abogadong si Terry Ridon ng Infrawatch PH at abogadong si Robert Beltejar na kumatawan sa Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).
“Sa totoo, awtomatikong nabawi na (ang prangkisa ng Mislatel) noong 2003 nang nabigo itong sumali sa stock market. Tiningnan natin sa listahan ng mga kompanya na nasa PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange), at wala doong publicly-traded entity na Mislatel,” sabi pa ni Ridon, sa wikang Ingles, sa naturang pagdinig.
Kinuwestiyon din ni Drilon ang di raw pag-ulat ng Mislatel sa Kongreso na nabili na ng grupo ni Escalante ang 70 porsiyentong sapi o shares ng naturang kompanya. Paglabag diumano ito sa prangkisa ng Mislatel.
Kinuwestiyon naman ng kalabang bidder na Sear Telecom (na pinangungunahan ni dating Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson) ang pag-apruba sa Mislatel para maging “third player” sa industriya ng telco. Ayon dito, labag sa prangkisa ng Mislatel ang pagpasok sa consortium dahil may dati na itong kasosyo na kompanyang Tier1 (sa pamamagitan ng subsidyaryo nitong DigiPhil).
Ang sagot ng Mislatel: wala na raw bisa ang kasunduan nito sa Tier1 dahil may nilabag ito sa kontrata, at para sa “maliliit na proyekto” lang umano ang kontrata nito sa Tier1.
Pero kinatigan pa rin ng Senado ang Mislatel. Inaprubahan nito ang pagpapalit ng pag-aari ng Mislatel tungo sa kontrol ni Uy noong Pebrero 2019. Tatlong senador lang, kabilang si Drilon, ang bumotong di-pabor dito.
Kaiba ito sa naging aktitud ng Kongreso sa aplikasyon ng prangkisa ng ABS-CBN: samantalang itinuturo ng mga mambabatas ang mga “paglabag” diumano ng ABS-CBN sa prangkisa nito bilang batayan ng pagtanggi ng renewal, pumabor naman ito sa pag-“cure” o pag-areglo ng mga problema o isyu sa prangkisa ng Mislatel.
Paggawad ni Duterte, kasama si DICT Sec. Gringo Honasan, ng Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity kay Dennis Uy at sa noo’y Mislatel na naging Dito Telecom. PCOO
Biglaang oligarko
Ang pinasok na consortium ng Mislatel ay sa kompanyang Udenna Corp. at subsidyaryo nitong Chelsea Logistics, na kapwa pag-aari ng negosyanteng malapit kay Duterte na si Dennis Uy, at China Telecommunications (China Telecom), ang kompanyang telco na pag-aari ng gobyerno ng China at ikatlong pinakamalaking kompanyang telco sa China. Ginamit ng consortium ang prangkisa ng Mislatel, na pag-aari rin ni Uy, para makapag-aplay ng CPCN sa administrasyong Duterte.
Si Uy ang isa sa pinakamalaking kontribyutor ni Duterte noong eleksiyong 2016. Tinatayang mahigit P30-Milyon ang inambag niya sa kandidatura ng Pangulo. Mula nang maupo si Duterte, limang beses ang inilaki ng yaman ni Uy, na namili ng mahigit 50 kompanya. Ayon sa Forbes Magazine noong Setyembre 2019, umaabot na sa US$660-M ang yaman ni Uy, at dineklara nitong ika-22 pinakamayang Pilipino.
May mga kumukuwestiyon sa biglang pag-usbong ni Uy bilang mayor na oligarko sa Pilipinas. Sa ulat ni Ralf Rivas ng Rappler.com, sinabi ng ilang financial experts at banker na nakakabahala ang mabilis na pagyaman ni Uy dahil sa gahiganteng paglaki ng utang, kita at gastos (liabilities, profit at expenses) nito mula 2016.
Ayon sa artikulo, nalampasan na ng Udenna Corp. ni Uy sa gastos, kita at utang ang mga kakompetensiya nitong Ayala Corp. (may-ari ng Globe), Metro Pacific Investment Corp. (pag-aari ni Manny Pangilinan na may-ari rin ng PLDT Inc.) at kahit SM Prime Holdings ng pinakamayamang pamilyang Sy.
“Noong 2017, gumastos ang Udenna ng P71.4-Bilyon sa investments, na tumaas nang 606 porsiyento mula sa P10.1-B noong 2016. Ibig sabihin nito’y gumasot ang Udenna nang higit na higit sa AC (Ayala Corp.), na nagtalaga ng P63.8-B noong 2017,” ulat ni Rivas ng Rappler.
Sa kabila ng sobrang gastos at sobrang utang, tila patuloy ang pag-utang nito sa iba’t ibang bangko. Kabilang sa inutangan ng Chelsea Logistics ni Uy ang Bank of China, na nagkakahalagang US$220-M. Ginamit umano nito ang pondo para bumili ng “substansiyal na sapi” sa kompanyang 2Go, na pag-aari ng mga Sy.
Samantala, inanunsiyo ng Mislatel ang pagpalit ng pangalan nito tungong Dito Telecom noong Marso 28 – sa mismong kaarawan ni Pangulong Duterte.
‘Globe, Smart inaalog’
Yun nga lang, naideklara na ang enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) sa Kamaynilaan at may iba-ibang antas ng lockdown sa buong bansa dahil sa pandemyang coronavirus disease-2019 (Covid-19).
Sa paggawad ng rehimeng Duterte ng CPCN sa Mislatel na naging Dito Telecom, ipinangako ng kompanya na maaabot na nito ang di-liliit sa 37 porsiyento ng populasyon ng bansa sa loob ng isang taon.
Pero sa pagdinig ng Senate Committee on Public Services na pinangunahan ni Sen. Grace Poe nitong Hulyo, napag-alamang mahigit 300 cell towers mula sa planong 1,300 sa unang taon ang nagawa pa lang ng Dito Telecom.
Paliwanag ni Adel Tamano, tapagsalita ng Dito Telecom, ito’y dahil daw sa mga lockdown kaya nahirapan ang pagtayo ng cell towers. Mahirap din daw ang proseso ng pag-aaplay ng mga permit para sa pagtatayo ng cell towers.
Ito rin ang inireklamo dati ng Globe at Smart – ang rekisitong di-bababa sa 29 permit para makapagtayo ng cell towers – kung kaya kulang na kulang umano ang 19,000 cell towers sa bansa. Ayon sa DICT, kinakailangan ng karagdagang 50,000 cell towers sa bansa para makamit ang istandard na 1,000 yunit ng mobile gadget-sa-bawat-cell site at maging mabilis at episyente ang serbisyo sa mobile Internet sa bansa.
Hiniling ng Dito Telecom na iekstend ang dedlayn nito tungong Enero 2021 para makamit ang 1,300 cell towers – kung kaya hindi nakapagtataka ang tila’y ura-uradang pagtatayo ng cell towers na nakita sa lugar nina Andrea sa Calamba, Laguna at iba pang lugar.
Samantala, nakipagsosyo naman ang DICT sa isa pang kompanyang Tsino para sa pagtatayo umano ng “common cell towers” o towers na maaaring gamiting ng iba’t ibang telcos. Noong Enero 2019, inanunsiyo ng DICT ang pagpirma ng kontrata sa China Energy Equipment Corp. para sa pagtatayo ng 50,000 common cell towers sa bansa.
(Ang China Energy Equipment Corp. ay nakapaloob sa China Energy Engineering Corp. o Energy China, na pag-aari pa rin ng gobyerno ng China.)
Sa SONA naman ni Duterte noong Hulyo 27, kinastigo nga niya ang dalawang gahiganteng telcos na Globe at PLDT/Smart. May mga kritikong nagsabi na maaaring pamamaraan lang ito ni Duterte para itulak ang Globe at Smart na ibukas ang cell towers nito sa paggamit din ng pinapaboran nitong Dito Telecom.
“Marami pang pasakalye…(G)usto lang ni Duterte na bigyan ng free ride ang kanyang 3rd telco sa cell towers ng Smart at Globe. Kaya niyuyugyog niya ngayon sina MVP (Pangilinan) at Ayala,” sabi ng kritikong si dating Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, sa kanyang Tweet. May bahaging Ingles ang Tweet na isinalin sa Filipino ng Pinoy Weekly. “Gusto ng Davao group na laway lang ang kapital nila, may telco na sila.”
Samantala, batay sa karanasan nina Andrea sa Laguna, at iba pang mamamayan sa iba’t ibang lugar, tila niraratsada na nga ngayon ang pagtatayo ng cell towers ng Dito Telecom.
Sinabi pa ni Poe na may hakbang na raw ang gobyerno para “pabilisin ang proseso” ng mga aplikasyon para sa cell sites. Pero malaking kuwestiyon pa kung lalong mailalagay nito sa panganib ang mga residenteng tulad nina Andrea na nangangamba sa pangmatagalang epekto ng cell towers sa kanilang kalusugan.
“Nakaka-depress talaga itong nangyari dito sa amin,” kuwento pa ni Andrea. “Katabi mismo ng bahay ng lola ko ang cellsite na tinayo nila. Mga 5-10 metro sa kanila, mga 30 metro sa bahay namin. Kahit hindi pa usapin ng health hazard ng radiation, panganib ito kapag may bagyo o lindol.”
Pinagbabantaan umano siyang kakasuhan ng ZTE kung magpapatuloy ang pagrereklamo – kaya napilitan na lang siya at mga kapitbahay niyang tumigil. “Wala tayong magagawa, kay Duterte ito,” sabi umano ng mga kapitbahay niya. Pero ani Andrea, kung may paraan lang para labanan ito, gagawin nila.
May ilang tagamasid ang nagsasabing kung matapos ng Dito Telecom na makamit ang inisyal na 1,300 cell towers sa Enero 2021, posibleng ilunsad na ng Dito ang komersiyal na operasyon nito sa Marso 2021 – marahil, sa kaarawan muli ni Pangulong Duterte.