The Philippine Star
November 14, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — A consumer advocacy group has urged government to move beyond piecemeal recovery efforts and adopt a unified national framework that integrates power, transport and telecommunications resilience as a public service priority.
CitizenWatch said it is proposing the renovation of power, telecommunications and transportation infrastructure into an integrated network of protected underground conduits through “dig once, build together” public-private partnerships (PPPs).
Lead convenor Orlando Oxales said digital infrastructure should be classified as a “lifeline utility,” aligning with global best practices. Such a measure, he said, would mandate minimum power and communications backup standards, infrastructure co-location, and investments in mobile cell units for emergency deployment.
“Building back better cannot just mean rebuilding the same vulnerable systems,” Oxales said. “Resilience means ensuring that when the next typhoon hits, communication lines remain open, relief flows unhampered, and power stays on.”
CitizenWatch cited the experiences of Japan, Taiwan and New Zealand as clear examples of how coordinated infrastructure systems can prevent the paralyzing blackouts and communication breakdowns that typically follow major disasters. After Japan’s 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, telecom operators NTT, KDDI and SoftBank implemented cross-network resource pooling and backup power sharing, restoring emergency communication lines within hours.
Taiwan, learning from repeated cable disruptions caused by typhoons, built a multi-layered network linking terrestrial, undersea, and satellite systems nationwide to maintain connectivity even when submarine cables are cut. New Zealand, following the Christchurch and Kaik?ura earthquakes, institutionalized joint planning between power utilities and telecom providers, reinforcing undersea cables and establishing joint repair corridors to minimize downtime.
“These countries show that resilience is not about rebuilding after every calamity — it’s about designing systems that never go completely dark,” said Oxales “When grid power and transport networks fail, the communications network becomes the bridge between life and recovery.”
CitizenWatch also encouraged the government to expand PPP models for integrated resilience clusters — linking telecom towers, power substations, and logistics hubs through pre-cleared emergency transport corridors.
“These investments are lifesaving assets,” Oxales said. “Every peso spent on resilience saves four pesos in recovery and avoids immeasurable human suffering.”
He added that the devastation caused by Typhoon Uwan should mark a turning point in how the Philippines plans and protects its lifelines.
“This is the moment to move from patchwork recovery to long-term resilience,” Oxales said. “If we align our energy, transport, and digital infrastructure under one resilience agenda, we don’t just survive the next typhoon—we ensure that every community stays connected, every rescue can be made, and every Filipino can count on a nation that works even in crisis.”
