Senate OKs free internet, tuition in SUCs

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate yesterday approved on final reading a bill providing free internet in public spaces and a measure giving tuition subsidy and financial assistance to college students.

Senate Bill No. 1277 or the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act was approved with 18 affirmative votes and no abstention.

The bill was authored by Senate Pro Tempore Ralph Recto and Sens. Francis Pangilinan, Manny Pacquiao, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV and Joel Villanueva.

Aquino, who sponsored the bill, said the proposed measure mandated the establishment of necessary infrastructure, equipment and end-user platform to give Filipinos free internet access in public spaces.

Under the bill, all national and local government offices, public schools from elementary to tertiary, public transport terminals, public hospitals and public libraries will have free internet access.

Aquino said currently, only about 52.6 percent of Filipinos have access to internet services. But in Singapore, 81.3 percent of the population have access to the internet, while 68 percent of the Malaysian population and 60.1 percent of the Thais have access.

“Offering Filipinos free high-quality internet access in public places is going to revolutionize the way that we go about our day and open our minds to boundless possibilities on how we can make our lives, our families and our communities better,” Aquino said.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has committed to put up Wi-Fi in 13,024 sites by the end of November 2017.

Recto also lamented that the Philippines has the seventh slowest broadband speed in the world.

He said a study showed that a 10-percent increase in broadband penetration in the country would lead to 1.38 percent increase in gross domestic Product, while another study showed that a 0.5 mega bits per second increase in internet speed would hike household income by $800 per year in less developed economies.

“ICT-reliant companies provide the third largest source of dollars, after electronics and overseas Filipino workers. Business process outsourcing the call centers, the back offices, medical transcription, game development, creative process outsourcing, to name a few, employ a million Filipinos, more if ancillary services are included,” Recto said.

The idea, Recto said, is to choose installation areas which will yield the greatest public benefit.

He also said that under the 2017 proposed budget of the DICT, the government aims to provide free broadband internet access to 1,462 towns and 44 cities nationwide.

Free higher education

The Senate also passed yesterday Bill 1304 or the “Free Higher Education for All Act,” which was approved with 18 votes. It was also sponsored by Aquino, former chairman of the Senate committee on education.

The landmark bill seeks to provide tuition subsidies and financial assistance to students in state universities and colleges private higher institutions and technical and vocational institutions.