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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Association of Private Telecommunications Companies (PAPTELCO), an organization of independent telecommunications companies providing connectivity in far-flung provinces, called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to veto the Konektadong Pinoy bill, and urged the passing of a better version in the 20th Congress.
“The current bill is flawed with national security issues as well as the lack of protection for small players like us that are already providing service to rural areas. A new and better Konektadong Pinoy bill can be certified as urgent so we can still it enacted into law this year,” said Atty. Normandy Baldovino Jr., president of PAPTELCO.
PAPTELCO earlier raised concerns around national security as any company can now build cable landing stations and international gateway facilities in the Philippines without the required clearances that is part of a legislative franchise granted by Congress.
“There can be a win-win situation if we enhance the bill in the next Congress. We can still attract foreign investors and at the same time protect the small telco players and protect the Filipinos from national security threats,” Baldovino said.
Other industry bodies like the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators already called out certain provisions in the Konektadong Pinoy bill that will be detrimental to both the Philippines' national security and Filipino consumers. These are:
- The removal of the requirement for a Congressional franchise for new telecommunications players entering the Philippines
- The watering down of the regulatory duties of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to an administrative one, as new players only has to register without showing proof of capability to operate in the Philippines
- Lack of vetting of new telecommunications players; and
- The lack of a requirement for new telecommunications players to be cybersecure prior to operating in the Philippines.
“We can’t sacrifice the country’s national security. While the Konektadong Pinoy bill has good intentions, it may have adverse effects down the road similar to when the government legalized Philippine Offshore Gaming Corporations (POGO). We have to correct the bill itself to ensure there is nothing lost when it comes to the implementing rules and regulations,” he said.
Under the bill, foreign-controlled companies are allowed to control critical information infrastructure (CII) essential for national security, without any financial, technical or legal checking.
New players are also allowed a grace period of one to three years after start of operations to have cyber security in place. This despite the high incidence of hacking in the Philippines.
The Konektadong Pinoy bill is a priority measure by the current administration that aims to expand internet access in the country by easing the entry of new players in the data transmission industry.
