Several members of the Baguio City Council raised concerns over the operation of a cell tower by DITO Community atop a residential structure in Purok 5, Upper Pinget Barangay, allegedly without the required city permits and concealed from authorities inside an enclosure designed to resemble a water tank.
During the City Council’s regular session on March 9, 2026, the City Planning Development and Sustainability Office (CPDSO) and the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) revealed that DITO had not been granted the necessary permits to operate the facility, rendering it illegal.
CPDSO Asst. Head Elias Aoanan explained that DITO applied for a zoning exemption from the Local Zoning Board of Adjustment and Appeals (LZBAA) on June 7, 2023 but the latter denied the application because no public consultation was conducted and that there were no affidavits of non-objection from neighbors.
Maria Elena Bilag, one of the complainants, claimed that the cell tower had been in the area since 2022 and has remained there until the present time. She said when they filed the petition in February, the tower was turned on but was turned off after inspectors arrived.
With the absence of a building permit, CBAO had issued a notice of violation (NOV) on February 27, 2026 against the project.
Engr. Ramon Villanueva of CBAO said the enforcement process involves administrative procedures. After issuing the NOV, their office schedules a hearing with the concerned parties. However, no hearing had been conducted yet because CBAO was waiting for the outcome of the discussion at the City Council, Villanueva explained.
Councilor Yuri Weygan expressed surprise over why the NOV was issued only on February 26 when the structure had already existed since 2022.
Villanueva said the cell tower was hidden inside what appeared to be a water tank. From the outside, it looked like a normal water tank, not a telecommunications facility. Weygan described the act as “deceptive behavior.”
Villanueva said this was not an isolated case. Several installations across the city were built inside water tanks, especially during the pandemic period. Some projects submitted plans labeled as water tanks, but when inspected in detail, they actually contained telecom equipment. Although some telecom projects eventually secured proper permits and were legalized.
However, the discussion took a turning point when Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda presented documents showing that three notices of violation were issued in 2022 and questioned why no action from CBAO was undertaken afterwards.
Villanueva said that after the third notice, a show cause order was issued requiring the applicant to explain why criminal charges should not be filed. However, no further enforcement action followed. He apologized and said the case would be forwarded to the city’s Anti-Squatting Committee.
In a similar case, Smart Telecommunications, through its contractor EdgePoint, applied for a zoning exemption in September 2025 for the operation of a cell tower on top of the same residential house. The application was granted but was later remanded by the LZBAA, directing the proponent to coordinate with barangay officials for another public consultation. The move came after concerned residents expressed opposition.
Punong Barangay Pablo Pawi said a public consultation on Smart Telecom’s proposal to construct a cell tower had earlier been conducted with residents, and no objections were raised.
Bilag challenged the legitimacy of the public consultation, claiming that only selected individuals were invited, mainly two families and several senior citizens, and that affidavits of non-objection were notarized by a lawyer from Pampanga. She asserted that the attendees were only signing an attendance sheet and not giving formal consent.
The discussion was prompted by a petition by Upper Pinget residents, with over a hundred signatures gathered. The petitioners cited concerns about health risks, safety hazards, zoning incompatibility, noise, and lack of community consultation.
In response, the City Council approved a resolution requesting the Department of Health to provide official guidance on the possible health effects of cell sites and recommended measures to mitigate potential health hazards. Another resolution was passed directing the CBAO to compile and review cell site projects whose permit applications were denied, including the reasons for denial, and to provide recommendations on whether similar applications could be considered under revised guidelines. **Jordan G. Habbiling
