National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. is proposing the construction of around 50,000 cell towers nationwide in order to ensure a strong internet connection in any part of the country.
He said this is essential to support the conduct of distance and online learning at all levels of education while the country continues to grapple with the ill effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I already recommended that cell towers should be constructed in all schools, all municipalities and all barangays in order to have wide coverage (of internet connection) that would even interconnect the Department of Education to all barangays,” said Esperon.
In this way, Esperon said, the Philippines will have strong and reliable internet connection amid complaints that one of the major obstacles to the effective conduct of online classes is the poor internet connection in the country which is currently dominated by two telecom networks.
In social media, student-netizens complain and poke fun at slow internet connection. There were also real stories of students who have to set up a learning space through a treehouse and have to climb their roof and other elevated portions in their areas to access the internet.
Currently, Esperon said there are 19,000 cell towers in the country. One of the major obstacles in the construction of more cell towers is that the Local Government Units (LGUs) are making it difficult for telecommunication companies (telcos) to construct due to numerous requirements.
Esperon revealed his recommendation amid security concerns on the decision of the Department of National Defense (DND) to grant the third telco in the country, Dito Telecom, permission to build their cellular towers inside military camps.
Since Dito Telecom is backed by a Chinese company, some security experts have been raising concerns on the possibility that the cell tower could be used in spying by the Chinese government.
China and the Philippines are locked in a territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea. Security concerns were already raised before since many of the Chinese-run Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) are said to be located near military camps.
Esperon immediately shrugged off spying concerns, saying allegations of spying are just an offshoot of the trade war between China and western countries.
“Hindi problema yan, mga ano lang yan, hindi ako, iba yung security na sinabi nila. E maski naman anong gamit mo kung gusto mong mag espionage, hindi na nila kailangang gawin yun nandito na sila, ganun din naman ang Amerika. (That is not a problem. They are talking about a different security. Whatever you use, if you want to engage in espionage, they do not have to do it because they are already here, like America),” said Esperon.
“Wala yan, ang dapat nating alalahanin coverage dahil kaya nating i-monitor lahat yan, coverage, diba, ano mas maganda coverage o kasama ka sa labanan ng Amerika at saka China. (It’s nothing, what we have to be concerned of are coverage because we can monitor all of them. What would you prefer? Good (internet) coverage or be caught in the war between America and China?,” he added.
Esperson assured that all the cell towers that would be erected inside military camps would be monitored by the government.