Konektadong Pinoy is for the greater good
A letter from the country’s biggest telecommunications companies was recently sent to President Marcos, coursed through Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda, regarding the Konektadong Pinoy bill. The letter highlights the bill’s supposed far-reaching negative implications for the data transmission sector. Their concerns deserve careful consideration. However, they must be weighed against an undeniable reality: the Philippines continues to lag behind its Asean peers in internet speed, affordability, and accessibility, a persistent gap that continues to stifle economic growth and widens the digital divide.
On the public consultation process. Dominant telecom companies stated they were not consulted over a bill that deals with internet services. I know from my experience as a former legislator before joining the Cabinet that the legislative process involves several hearings and consultations and calls for comments. The records of the House of Representatives and the Senate show that the telcos were invited and sent representatives to numerous hearings and technical working group meetings.
The Konektadong Pinoy bill did not appear overnight. It has evolved from earlier proposals and iterations, including the Open Access in Data Transmission bill, and has been discussed in three Congresses. Industry groups, civil society and consumer groups, business organizations, and government agencies participated in these debates. Choosing to convey one’s objections to a bill at a late stage reflects a timing choice, and should not be blamed on Congress or the executive agencies.
Modernizing security frameworks. Concerns about the absence of a congressional franchise and physical presence as security safeguards rest on outdated assumptions. Franchises are political instruments, not technical defenses. Security in the digital age depends on technical protocols, organizational capacity, and cybersecurity awareness and skills, not on a congressional franchise.
The Konektadong Pinoy bill addresses this directly. It requires compliance with internationally recognized cybersecurity standards under DICT oversight, continuous security audits, and prohibits foreign state-owned enterprises from operating data transmission networks. This moves us away from a security model based on political approval and toward one based on concrete and auditable performance.
Cybersecurity compliance and fair competition. The compliance deadline for new entrants has been portrayed as creating an uneven playing field, a “two-tier system” that unfairly burdens long-standing players. This is a misreading. The bill does not grant any kind of exemption from existing cybersecurity and data protection laws. Rather, it sets a firm compliance deadline that is backed by substantial penalties. Allowing a reasonable period for companies to upgrade systems to ISO or DICT standards supports both fundamental fairness and realistic deadlines for industry-wide readiness.
Groundwork for a digital economy. The bill does not undermine legitimate investments but instead strengthens the legal and regulatory foundation for the digital economy. Concerns that it violates the “single-subject rule” misinterpret the legislative requirement. This rule only requires that a bill’s provisions be germane to its title, not that it be narrowly confined to a single concept. Similar to other comprehensive reforms like the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, the measure aims to address the entirety of the data transmission sector, consistent with its stated purpose.
The Konektadong Pinoy bill represents a deliberate choice to modernize a sector and, more importantly, to close the internet connectivity gap. This policy is an investment in digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, and national competitiveness. It will enable not only the country but the Filipino people to compete globally.
Despite the last-minute warning by the incumbent telcos, the urgency of passing the Konektadong Pinoy bill has long been recognized by internet users and consumers. Since 2016, close to 100 government and private sector leaders, industry organizations, business associations, and development groups have signified their full support for and endorsement of the bill. The enactment of the Konektadong Pinoy bill will affirm that the Philippines is ready not just to participate in the digital future, but to aspire to be at the center of it.
The President has shown political will by certifying this bill as urgent. Signing the Konektadong Pinoy bill into law will demonstrate that he is for the greater good of the Filipino people.
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Gary B. Teves had served as finance secretary under the Arroyo administration. For comments/queries, you may contact gbtresearchteam@gmail.com
