Agenda of the next president: Interconnectivity

Starting Feb. 9, 2016, the Inquirer is coming out with a 10-part series on pressing national concerns that should be high on the agenda of the five contenders in the May 9 presidential election. The series should help Filipinos choose wisely the country’s next leader.

In line with our “ThINQ. Vote.” advocacy, we have asked the presidential candidates to outline their concrete plans of action in dealing with 10 decades-long issues—poverty, economy and jobs, food security, peace and order, corruption, healthcare, foreign policy, traffic, climate change and Internet connectivity.

Internet demand has skyrocketed in recent years, but the Philippines has a long way to go to achieve fast Internet. A recent OpenSignal study showed that the Philippines is ranked 62nd among 62 countries in speed (6 mbps). In availability of 4G signal, it is ranked 65th, with about 43-percent coverage. This could improve or worsen depending on what the next President will do to improve Internet services.

INQUIRER.net is publishing verbatim the candidates’ action plans to connect more Filipinos to the World Wide Web. For the summary of the 10 pressing issues, go to our special Elections 2016 website.

* Editor’s Note: Also included verbatim in this article are the candidates’ agendas on infrastructural connectivity. 

Jejomar Binay

In June 2011, the United Nations released a report declaring Internet access a human right. Also known as the right to broadband, it has been declared that all people must be able to access the Internet in order to exercise and enjoy their rights to freedom of expression and that each state has a responsibility to make Internet broadly available. Because of this, the Binay administration will give telecommunications concerns equal attention as those of transportation. Thus, a new department, which focuses solely on information and communication issues, will be created separate from the department handling transportation issues.

Rody Duterte

On Internet connectivity

• Recognize the Internet as basic infrastructure that needs proper regulation. We will give telecommunication companies a deadline to shape up or else invoke their failure at their public service commitments as reason to revoke franchises.

On infrastructural connectivity

• Naia, the nation’s international gateway and its domestic air transport hub, is an example of gross mismanagement, structural disorganization and lack of forward planning.
• In the meantime, the more effective use of other gateways must be enhanced, such as Clark, Cebu, Laoag, Davao and other cities. Night-landing and radar facilities in other airports will need to be implemented for rational flight scheduling.
• A well-studied and properly implemented new international airport needs to be prioritized to serve ever-growing air traffic, including its land approaches.
• Under a federal government, cities can play a bigger hand in improving their airports. The current national scheme under the Department of Transportation and Communication impedes airport and seaport development.
• All municipalities must have standard roads connecting them to major Philippine highways. No municipality must remain unreachable due to the lack of a paved road within the first three years of my administration.

Grace Poe

• Create a Department of Information and Communication Technology, whose task will be to ensure the delivery of fast and affordable Internet services.
• Encourage greater competition among service providers by liberalizing foreign ownership restrictions in utilities.
• Establish Free WiFi zones in public buildings, including colleges and universities.
• Provide more computers in public schools.
• Strengthen the link between education, information and entrepreneurship by developing technology mentorship programs at public universities.

Mar Roxas

Information technology (IT) development is very important for a developing country such as the Philippines. As one of those who developed the IT-BPO (business process outsourcing) industry, I understand the challenges in this issue.

What we need is effective regulation of telecommunications companies. For example, instead of advertising Internet speed in terms of “up to X mbps,” they should inform consumers in terms of “minimum of.” That way, consumers are protected and they get what they are truly paying for.

Miriam Defensor-Santiago

On Internet connectivity

The government and the private sector should work hand in hand to solve the problem of slow yet expensive Internet services. Experts estimate that given the present state of Philippine Internet, P800 billion in capital expenditures is needed every year to provide 80 percent of households an Internet speed of at least 2 mbps. The two Internet giants have been setting their capital expenditure at an average of P60 billion a year. Allocations peaked in 2015, at a total of P70.5 billion. Clearly, the government must also invest. As president, I will:

• Allocate budget for the development of shared Internet infrastructure;
• Encourage telecommunication companies to increase capital expenditure;
• Match private capital with public investment;
• Explore temporary solutions including Internet protocol (IP)  peering, which allows traffic exchange between networks; and
• Seek to create, with legislative support, an environment that will encourage entry of more nationwide telecommunications providers.

On infrastructural connectivity

My government will set aside at least 5 percent of its resources for public infrastructure for the country to catch up with its Asean neighbors and to sustain strong growth. Poor public infrastructure in the Philippines is a major constraint to growth. Under my watch, the following projects will be launched:

• A modern, international airport;
• An entirely new railway system from Manila to Sorsogon province;
• A modern, integrated urban transit system in Metro Manila with lines reaching urban communities in Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna provinces;
• One mixed-use government center (with adjacent residential, commercial, and entertainment facilities) in the National Capital Region and in each of the 17 regions; and
• One major project per region and per province;

For maximum impact and in response to the greater sense of urgency, these projects will be done simultaneously. Some will be done on pure public-private partnership, some hybrid type (government will finance the construction and then will bid out the management and maintenance of the project after construction) and some by government through the usual public procurement procedure. In order to make the facilities affordable to citizens, the government will not require a premium from winning contractors.

On the financing side, we estimate that we have to allocate an enormous amount ranging from P819 billion in 2017 to P1.3 trillion in 2022. But we cannot build modern infrastructure on the basis of promises alone. It will have to be financed through better tax administration, tax policy reform and government borrowings.

Approximate public expenditure budget, 2017 to 2022

Public infrastructure in billion pesos

With low interest rates, we can easily justify financing the necessary infrastructure projects through loans for as long as the return on investment is greater than the borrowing costs.

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