Baguio council urged: Relocate Globe tower

Diseases rampant among folks near site 

BAGUIO CITY – Residents here urged the city council anew to act fast and cause immediate relocation of a 60-meter Globe tower built in a residential area over two decades ago which they said, caused grave ailments among them.

           They earlier made the request to the city council which referred back to its committee on public utilities, traffic and transport legislation  documents on the matter from Upper Market Subdivision barangay.

The committee was tasked to look into all angles of the request as Globe Telecom filed a motion with the local legislative body seeking the reconsideration of Resolution No. 239, series of 2008 that supported the request of the barangay for immediate relocation of its tower.

The committee was mandated to look into the health issues raised by residents wherein a number of people living within the area of the tower reportedly succumbed to breath, stomach, ovarian cancers over the past  years pinpointing to the tower as primary culprit that triggered their illnesses or worsened them.

Concerned residents called on the local legislative body to consider also the safety angle because a strong earthquake might cause the tower to collapse and imperil lives and property.

The Barangay Council of Upper Market Subdivision earlier endorsed construction of the 60-meter Globe tower in their barangay in 1996.

But the barangay then revoked their endorsement in 1999 after a petition from concerned residents over the alleged health and safety hazards posed by the purely metal structure.

The members of the committee will decide in the coming weeks whether or not to invite all parties, including their technical personnel to inspect the site to check its stability to withstand an earthquake.

Lawyer Solgrandioso David, Jr., head of Globe Telecom’s government regulatory compliance, regulatory compliance division and corporate and legal services, said it complied with all requirements for construction of the tower over two decades ago and health issues being raised by the concerned residents were addressed that is why the company is wondering why such similar issues cropped up.

The City Council will set a future hearing on the matter inviting, among others, experts from the health department to shed light on the issue of radiation being emitted by the tower that allegedly poses a serious threat to the health of the people in the surrounding areas.

David claimed the health issues against their tower could be well clarified by health experts who were able to conduct numerous studies both in the international and local scenes on whether or not the radiation being emitted by the radio waves from their tower is detrimental to the health of the people living in the surrounding areas of the tower.

He said Globe will comply with whatever action of the local legislative body but warned mobile phone users that their signal in the central business district area will be compromised once they will remove the tower based in Upper Market Subdivision. – Dexter A. See