Cable TV group slams govt failure to resolve rural electric cooperatives’ high pole rentals
Credit to Author: THE MANILA TIMES| Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2019 10:10:10 +0000
A group of cable TV and internet operators has accused the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and National Electrification Administration (NEA) of alleged insincerity in resolving the issue of high pole rentals imposed by rural electric cooperatives.
Federation of International Cable TV and Telecommunications Associations of the Philippines (Fictap) National Chairman Estrellita Juliano-Tamano sent a letter to NEA complaining against the implementation of the pole rental increase.
In a NEA memorandum 2018-055 dated Aug. 15, 2018, rural electric cooperatives, led by the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca), were directed to implement a new pole rental policy raising rates by an average of about 40 percent.
Juliano-Tamano said that in some cases, the rate of increase was as high as more than 300 percent or more than three times the old rate.
After the appeal of Fictap, Undersecretary Eliseo Rio, DICT officer-in-charge, agreed to hold the memorandum and form a technical working group (TWG), which would review the issue and make appropriate recommendations.
“To our disappointment, sad to say, the TWG has not been formed until now, one year and seven months from the first time Gen. Rio promised to do it,” Juliano-Tamano said. FRANZ EMBUDO