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| Vol. XX No. 48 |
February 07, 2001 |
Virac, Catanduanes |
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The Catanduanes Tribune Rawis, Virac Catanduanes, Philippines - 5001 Tel. No.: (052) 811-1267 or 811-2640 Fax No.: (052) 811-1267 E-mail:
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Publisher-Editor Edwin A. Gianan |
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Advertising- Circulation Manager Simeon G. Cueno |
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Web Master: Calgary, Canada |
Major Developments
Globe plans
more cellsites here
Globe
Telecom is planning to put up additional cellsites in the province of
Catanduanes to enable to it to serve all of 11 municipalities in the near
future.
This
was bared last Friday afternoon during the inauguration of its first
cellsite in the island at San Isidro Village in the capital town. The
inauguration was graced by National Telecommunications Commission chief
Joseph A. Santiago, Gov. Hector S. Sanchez, former Gov. Severo C.
Alcantara, Globe vice president for mobile engineering Emmanuel Estrada,
assistant vice president for legal services Atty. Froilan Castelo, and
municipal officials. Mayor Jose U. Alberto was there before the start of
the rites but left for urgent business at the town hall.
In
his remarks, Engr. Estrada said the affair marked Globe Telecom's 1,147th
cellsite in the entire country, compared to just 35 in 1994 when cellular
telecommunications first arrived in the Philippines.
He
added that the cellsite is the product of his company's Bicol expansion
which began last year. He said they encountered difficulty due to the
region's mountainous terrain and the fact that most of the transmitters'
locations were in national preserves, which makes the DENR hesitate in
granting permits.
Estrada
thanked the host community and pledged Globe's help in developing Virac,
saying that the cellsite indicates not only business concerns but also the
development of the host community.
The
Globe official also disclosed that the company has already changed the
design of cellsites, which are now bigger and more spacious to accommodate
expansion work easily. He said transmission lines are now being planned to
cross Bondoc peninsula into Bicol so the company can offer services other
than cellular communications.
For
his part, Gov. Sanchez thanked Globe for bringing top-of-the-line
communications to Catanduanes. Unable to resist the temptation to take a
dig at archenemy Rep. Leandro B. Verceles, he said that "since 1992,
some of our politicians introduced this obsolete communications like the
Telepono sa Barangay, hoping that this can be utilized by constituents.
They have spent so many millions of pesos out of the CDF but it doesn't
materialize."
On
the other hand, NTC Commissioner Santiago lauded the telecom giant for
acceding to his request that a cellsite be put up in the province. He said
that Globe's action means it has invested at least $300,000 or P14-million
in Catanduanes."Sana matuloy na ito kahit wala na ako sa NTC,"
said the would-be congressman.
Another
Globe official, Atty. Froilan Castelo, revealed that early upon his
assumption as NTC commissioner in 1998, Santiago asked him what Globe
could do for Catanduanes. He said that Globe delivered on its promise to
Santiago that its cellsite here would come either in late 2000 or early
2001. He said that it was his in-laws from Caramoran as well as Santiago,
his classmate in law school, who badgered him about the Globe cellsite.
"But
let us give credit to the prosperity of the town," Castelo remarked.
"Cellsites are put up not only for need of additional coverage but
also because of business considerations."
He
said that Globe saw the skyrocketing progress of Virac and neighboring
towns under the stewardship of Gov. Sanchez and, to sustain the prosperity
and development, the towns need first-class technology that Globe Telecom
offers.
Castelo
said the satellite-linked Virac cellsite is a first in the world, having
been specifically designed by Globe and Nokia to withstand the worst of
typhoons.
The
cellsite and its 40-meter steel tower was constructed by M. Alberto
Construction under contract with Nokia and was supervised by project
manager Jesse Luis L. Alberto of Lanao, Virac.
