ARTA applies strategy on telco to speed up water projects

The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) said it will apply a similar strategy on the telecommunications sector to fast-track the review and approval of key water-resource projects.

In a statement, ARTA Director General Jeremiah Belgica said the agency heed the instruction of President Rodrigo Duterte through Administrative Order No. 32 on “Expediting the Review and Approval Process of Infrastructure Flagship Projects on Water Security” signed August 26.

“We heed the instruction of the President to strictly implement the provisions of RA (Republic Act) 11032 on these projects. The same strategy that ARTA has been employing with the common tower will also be applied to fast-track the processing of water infrastructure projects,” Belgica said.

RA 11032, also known as the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, aims to streamline the current systems and procedures of government services.

For the telecommunications sector, ARTA issued a Joint Memorandum Circular to automatically approve all pending applications for common telecommunication towers with the local government units (LGUs)
“We call on all agencies and LGUs involved, move faster as directed by the President. Giving procedural or logistical delay as reasons will no longer cut it; we have to find a way,” Belgica said.

He said ARTA will closely coordinate with acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua and Presidential Adviser for Flagship Programs Vivencio Dizon to identify the water-resource infrastructure projects with pending applications.

ARTA will also meet with water concessionaires and stakeholders.

“The movement and completion of infrastructure projects for water security projects is a high priority for the administration and is precisely the reason for this Administrative Order,” the ARTA chief said.*