By Estanislao Albano, Jr.
Amid his threats and harsh words against them and likewise his decision to open the door to a new major telecommunications player and thereby loosen their stranglehold on the industry, how come President Rodrigo Duterte does not want to strike at the heart of the intractability of the telcos by throwing his full support behind moves to amend the laughable P200.00 a day penalty for erring public service companies provided in the 82-year old Public Service Act?
It is highly unlikely that the President is not aware of the absurdity because for more than a decade now, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has been telling everyone willing to listen that the antiquated penalty provision has rendered the agency and government practically helpless in dealing with the telcos who would rather risk paying the paltry penalty than comply with government regulations and orders.
His third SONA would have been an opportune time for the President to tell the telcos who is boss by including among the legislations he asked Congress to prioritize House Bill No. 6558 which seeks to upgrade the ridiculous penalty to the realistic P1M a day. Approved by the Lower House on November 21, 2017, the bill is now in the Senate.
Let it be noted that in the previous Congresses, several bills which could hurt the duopoly if passed into law did not prosper. These include House and Senate bills in the 16th Congress which had the same purpose as that of House Bill No. 6558 and Senate Bill No. 2238 or the Bilis Konek Act of 2014 which also would have hurt the telcos as it pegged the minimum download speed at 10 Mbps for mobile Internet access and 20 Mbps for fixed and fixed wireless Internet two years after passage.
Given the proven timidity of our legislators when it comes to pushing legislation which are inimical to the interest of the telcos, left to their own devices, it is most likely that the senators will let House Bill 6558 suffer the same fate as the previous bills which would have forced the duopoly to move to improve their services. Already indicative of the chances of the proposed legislation is the fact that the re-filed Bilis Konek Act has been languishing in the Committee on Public Service chaired by Senator Grace Poe since August 8, 2016.
By stark contrast, the Free Public Wifi Bills which were filed in both houses right after the opening of the 17th Congress became Republic Act No. 10929 on August 2, 2017 or just a bit over a year after filing. That’s because the implementation of the law is purely a government concern and does not have an adverse effect on the telcos whatsoever.
However, it is a given that intervention from the President could significantly boost the odds for the passage of House Bill 6558 into law. Why despite his administration’s “resolve to ensure that the country’s telecommunications services are reliable, inexpensive and secure” expressed anew in his third SONA the President has yet to give the push is puzzling. Does he, just like our legislators down to a man, also harbour fear for the telcos deep in his heart despite his strong language and the steps he has so far taken intended to break up the duopoly?
Whatever, just like what the NTC has been pleading all along, the ridiculously low penalty needs to go if we want to make the telcos toe the line. More so that there is no assurance the new player will not also exploit to the hilt the government’s virtual defencelessness against erring telcos. **
