Marcos certifies Konektadong Pinoy bill as urgent
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President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has certified as urgent the passage of the bill seeking to provide affordable and accessible internet connectivity to Filipinos nationwide.
In a letter addressed to Senate President Francis Escudero dated January 27, Marcos called for the immediate enactment of Senate Bill 2699 or Konektadong Pinoy Act to “facilitate the development of a robust and resilient communications infrastructure.”
The letter added that establishing a competitive and innovation-driven data transmission industry “will safeguard the public interest, promote fair competition, encourage investment in critical digital networks, and equip the government and public with the necessary tools to maintain vital communications channels and effectively respond to emergency situations.”
Senate Bill 2699 remains pending for a second reading.
Under the proposed measure, the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) will jointly maintain and update a centralized database of data transmission infrastructure.
The Philippine Competition Commission and the NTC are also mandated to ensure that all industry players will observe fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory treatment in all their dealings.
However, advisory and research firm Stratbase said last October that while lawmakers have noble intentions in mind, "the bill in its current form may expose us to more pitfalls and risks."
"The law seeks to make it easier for investments in telecommunications to pour into the country, and part of this is to address the roadblocks that hinder the flow of investments. But in our zeal to encourage investments, it would be prudent to maintain the regulatory oversight of the NTC. Only it will keep telcos in line and will serve as the people’s recourse," Stratbase said.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is pushing for the passage of the measure which, it said, will provide open access and transparency in the country’s data transmission sector. — VBL, GMA Integrated News