Two party-list lawmakers are pushing for a measure expanding the power of National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
In House Bill (HB) 6369, Party-list Reps. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna said their proposal will “rationalize” government regulations of the telecommunication (telco) industry by clearly defining the powers of the NTC, through the formulation of provisions, specific and categorical, to the industry.
The bill, which amends Republic Act 7925, or the Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines, seeks to classify Internet and short- messaging services (SMS) as utilities imbued with public interest.
The measure also seeks to raise the fines to ensure the maximum compliance of telco players and Internet- service providers.
“In exercise of its regulatory powers, the commission shall be given the power to impose fines against telecommunication-service providers within the scope of its regulation that is found violating or failing to comply with the terms and conditions of any certificate or any orders, decisions or regulations of the commission,” the bill said.
“The commission is hereby authorized and empowered to impose such fine, after due notice and hearing. The erring service providers are also mandated to refund to consumers the charges they erroneously imposed to their subscribers,” it added.
Currently, the NTC may exact a fine of only up to P200 per day on telco players offering services that do not meet quality benchmarks. The P200 fine per day is based on a 78-year-old law, the Public Service Act of 1936.
Moreover, the bill also said that the Department of Transportation and Communications shall not exercise any power, which will tend to influence or affect a review on a modification of the commission’s quasi-judicial functions.
“[However], in coordination with the Department of Science and Technology and other related agencies, they are given the mandate to develop a National Telecommunications and Internet Infrastructure in order to provide a nationwide network that would provide interconnection among different government offices and local government units. All Internet-service providers shall be required to connect to the said infrastructure,” the measure added.
In filing the bill, the lawmakers said the Philippines has been dubbed as the text capital, social media and even the business-process outsourcing (BPO) capital of the world, which shows a very high demand for the use of telecommunication services.
“Internet and SMS are vital parts of our daily lives, playing crucial role in many aspects of society, from media and information, entertainment, education, governance and the economy,” the lawmakers said.
“The bayanihan spirit has extended online where people send support for those affected by calamities and disasters, and government agencies use the internet for relevant alerts,” the authors added.
The lawmakers also said the current Public Telecommunications Policy Act rendered the NTC is toothless when it comes to regulating internet and text messaging services, which is considered only as a “value-added service” and therefore is outside the jurisdiction of the commission.
“This bill also echoes the call of consumers that the government should lead the creation of a national telecommunications and internet infrastructure in order to interconnect the different islands of the country, which is a very monumental task and shall need government resources so it would cover areas unprofitable for the telecommunications companies to build its facilities,” the authors said.
“Even as Filipinos are recognized worldwide as SMS and internet savvy, the country has been lagging behind in terms of average internet speed and total internet penetration hovers around 35 to 40 percent only of the Philippine population, with the majority of the activity coming from urban centers,” they added.