Internet access should be a legal right – Villar

MANILA, Philippines - Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar wants to make Internet access a legal right for every Filipino citizen.

This would put Internet access in a similar class to water and electric services – basic utilities which should be available to everyone.

Addressing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Conference on Work-Life Balance in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, Villar said the Philippines can achieve a much improved Internet access with legal support.

“Finland already made broadband a legal right. They have recently launched a project that would provide every Finn access to at least 1 Mbps broadband connection. I can’t see a reason why the Philippines should not follow suit,” Villar said.

 “More than half of Filipinos do not have access to the Internet. The government must intervene and ensure that access to technology, and ultimately information, is available to its citizens, regardless of socio-economic factors,” he said.

He cited a study conducted by “We Are Social Singapore” that showed only 44 percent or 44.2 million Filipinos out of 101.1 million are active Internet users in the Philippines, 42 million of which are also in social media.

The picture depicted by United Nations, he said, is even more alarming. According to the 2014 UN report, only 37 percent of Filipinos have access to the Internet in 2013, placing the Philippines 106th out of 191 countries assessed.

“If we look, into our neighbors in the Asean, Philippines registered one of the lowest access rates. For example, 73 percent of those in Singapore, 67 percent of those in Malaysia, 64.5 percent of those in Brunei, and 43.9 percent of those in Vietnam are able to access the Internet,” Villar said.

Villar, who chairs the House committee on trade and industry, said that by removing technological boundaries, the government will be able to lessen discrimination and provide a more free and liberal access to data, closing the widening gap of urban-rural divide.

“When Filipinos have free and convenient access to the Internet, with speed at par with neighboring countries, not only do we promote efficiency in realizing work objectives, we also protect our citizen’s right to freedom of speech and information,” he said.

The House of Representatives is fastracking the passage of a bill that seeks to criminalize the neglect of the elderly and persons with disabilities (PWDs) to ensure that they are not abandoned and receive enough care.

House Bill 6460 or the proposed “Care for the Elderly and Disabled Act” is being deliberated in the chamber with the aim of passing it before the 16th Congress in June.

The bill defines PWDs as those suffering from restriction of different abilities, as a result of a mental, physical or sensory impairment, to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being, while vulnerable elderly person refers to any resident of the Philippines at least 60 years old who is suffering from a disease or infirmity.