Oversight gap in Konektadong Pinoy Act may backfire – citizens group

MANILA, Philippines — A citizens advocacy group has cautioned lawmakers about an oversight gap in the proposed Konektadong Pinoy Act and urged them to reconsider its implications, saying that the bill in its current form could result in unintended negative outcomes for broadband users.

“The bill’s intent to open up the telecommunications market to more players might seem like a good solution to our connectivity issues,” said Orlando Oxales, convenor of CitizenWatch Philippines. “However, without the proper regulatory safeguards, this approach could backfire, leading to a host of unintended consequences that could undermine the very goals it seeks to achieve.”

The Konektadong Pinoy Act is now awaiting action at the Senate as one of the LEDAC priority bills. The House of Representatives passed its version of the measure on third reading in December 2022.

Oxales said that they are primarily concerned with the potential weakening of the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC), which has long served as the gatekeeper of the country’s telecommunications sector and has ensured that only qualified operators with the adequate resources and expertise are allowed to provide services to the public.

“The Konektadong Pinoy Act proposes to reduce the NTC’s role to that of a mere registrar, stripped of its oversight functions,” Oxales said.

He further expressed worry that this could give way to a deluge of new entrants, even those without technical capability or financial stability to provide reliable connectivity to Filipinos. “In the rush to increase competition, we could end up with a marketplace flooded with providers who would claim to prioritize speed but cannot deliver on quality and security, leaving Filipino consumers with subpar and unsafe internet services.”

A worse, more alarming scenario could also emerge, Oxales said. “These may open opportunities for cybercrime syndicates to infiltrate and cause harm to our individual and enterprise consumers in both the government and private sectors.”

In a separate statement, Stratbase Institute president Victor Andres Dindo Manhit said that weakening the regulatory oversight function of the NTC can potentially lead to a chaotic scenario wherein the country’s telecommunications networks can be exploited by hostile entities, posing significant risks to national security.

“The Konektadong Pinoy Act should align with the safeguard provisions of the Public Services Act wherein critical infrastructure, defined as public services whose disruption could significantly impact national security, public health, or safety, is subject to rigorous regulatory oversight by the National Telecommunications Commission and other agencies,” Manhit said.