By Estanislao Albano, Jr.
I strongly doubt the seriousness and sincerity of Senator Grace Poe in seeking effective solutions to the public’s Internet woes. Just like the entire population of the two houses of Congress, she too is pussyfooting around the duopoly and it appears she too has this notion that the moment her intention lands in the papers, her job is done.
First, she co-sponsored the Free Wifi Bills which became Republic Act No. 10929 or “An Act establishing the free internet access program in public spaces in the country and appropriating funds therefor” in record time. The bills were filed in both houses right after the opening of the 17th Congress and became Republic Act No. 10929 on August 2, 2017 or just a bit over a year after filing. But until now, the Committee on Public Service which she chairs has not touched it since it was filed August 8, 2016. Senate Bill No. 2238 or the Bilis Konek Act of 2016 of Senator Ralph Recto which seeks to mandate telcos to provide minimum download speed of 10 Mbps for mobile Internet access and 20 Mbps for fixed and fixed wireless Internet two years after passage. There is a great difference between the two measures when it comes to how they affect the interests of the duopoly. The expense for the implementation of Republic Act No. 10929 is entirely shouldered by the government while of course, if it becomes law, the Bilis Konek Act of 2016 will force the duopoly to cough out billions to upgrade their facilities.
We are more than half way through the term. When does the senator intend to act on Recto’s bill?
And wait a minute, where was Senator Poe in the last Congress when Senate Bill No. 3208 which sought to amend the outdated Commonwealth Act No. 146 or the Public Service Law to attune it to present times by raising the ridiculous P200.00 a day penalty for erring telecom firms to between P300,000.00 to P5M a day per violation of any certificate, authority, resolution or regulation of the NTC was pending? It appears that Poe had not heard the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) reiterating that the reason the telcos could just run circles around the government and remain deaf to the cries of the public for better Internet services is the outdated penalty.
Second, the senator encouraged the public to bring their complaints on the poor services of the telcos to her promising these would not fall on deaf ears as she raise them in appropriate Senate hearings. Thinking that this was the opening I was waiting for, through a letter sent last November, I complained to her about the absurd declared 256 Kbps minimum speed with 80 percent reliability of the Globe Telecom. In gist, I stated that the declared minimum speed is a mockery of NTC Memorandum Order No. 07-07-2011 which states that broadband service providers shall specify the minimum broadband/internet connection speed and service reliability in their advertisements, flyers, brochures and service agreements because of the following among others: first, because the reliability is 80 percent, the speed could still go lower than 256 Kbps 20 percent of the time; Globe Telecom plans come with entertainment services such as Netflix, Hooq and NBA pass which cannot be played let alone enjoyed at 256 Kbps; and the guaranteed minimum speed of the PLDT for similar plans is 5 Mbps.
I pointed out in my complaint that the minimum Internet speed declared by Globe Telecom is the smoking gun on the collusion between the telco and the NTC because the ridiculous minimum speed would not have been possible without the cooperation of NTC officials who are supposed to be protecting the public from the excesses of the telcos.
Because of this, I felt that the complaint was serious enough to merit the attention of a legislator making noises for the improvement of telecommunications but it’s been four months and he office has not yet acknowledged my complaint.
The failure of her office to respond to my complaint is in violation of Section 5 (a) of Republic Act (RA) 6713, otherwise known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees which provides that public officials and employees shall respond to written communication from the public within 15 working days from receipt informing the action taken on the request. How does the senator intend to resolve problems brought to her let alone those caused by greedy companies like the telcos when her reaction time to the complaint is in itself a subject of complaint? How could you say that a government official is serious about her work when she sits on these complaints?
By the way, neither have the NTC and the Globe Telecom answered my accusation until now.**
