DAET, Camarines Norte -- The free Internet access promised by Smart Communications to a barangay was put to naught after the local government here ordered the immediate dismantling of the cell tower hurriedly installed in Purok 5, Roseville Subd., Barangay 7 in this town on December ll, 2007.
The order came from the Municipal Engineering Office headed by Engr. Jesus T.L. Fernandez, Jr. last Monday, January 7, also the day when Punong Barangay Norvell Manaog, Jr. called for a conference with the petitioners who opposed the installation of the cell site tower.
In a letter to the local Smart office, Fernandez said, “As the chief of the Zoning Division in the Office of the Building Official, I regret to inform you that communication towers are prohibited within a residential zone; therefore, your company is hereby required to immediately cease from constructing your temporary tower within Roseville Subdivision and explore other sites where communication towers are allowed.”
It was learned that construction of the structure was without mayor’s permit which prompted the building official to issue a notice of illegal construction against Smart on December ll, 2007.
Engr. Noel Jesus V. Lizardo of the Smart local office, along with Punong Barangay Manaog, who kept mum after receiving a copy of the order, met the petitioners who rejected Lizardo’s request that they be given six months instead of one month to transfer to another area.
“Why should we wait for that long? In six months the ground will be soft because of the rain. Shall we wait for one of us to meet an accident?” retired PNP Insp. Francisco Lucena Sr. asked.
Mabini Colleges used to house the tower of Smart but discontinued its contract with the message provider after five years so that the tower was transferred to Purok 5.
The residents of the Purok who welcomed the decision of the town’s engineering office reasoned out that it had been customary among communication companies to install their towers in residential areas to avoid attacks by criminal elements.
