The advocacy group CitizenWatch Philippines has urged lawmakers to act on pending reforms to expedite the rollout of internet infrastructure nationwide.
In a statement, the group pointed to several reasons-such as the 1977 National Building Code, lengthy right-of-way (ROW) procedures, and restrictions imposed by homeowners’ associations (HOA)-as key hurdles that delay broadband access and keep services costly and unreliable.
‘Our Building Code dates back to 1977, long before internet connectivity became essential to life,’ CitizenWatch lead convenor Orlando Oxales said.
‘As a result, many buildings lack provisions for broadband infrastructure, leaving residents with limited or delayed access,’ he added.
Oxales said several measures addressing these gaps were filed in the last Congress but have not been refiled in the 20th Congress.
These include bills such as House Bill 900 on telecommunications readiness of buildings, House Bill 4472 on ICT infrastructure requirements for housing developments, and House Bill 6571 on ROW guidelines.
‘We encourage lawmakers to refile, refine, and pass these bills so we can create a legal environment more responsive to connectivity needs,’ he said.
The group also pushed for clearer rules that would prevent HOAs from blocking telco entry into subdivisions and condominiums, and for policies allowing multiple service providers to operate in the same community to avoid monopolies.
‘These reforms should encourage infrastructure designs that accommodate multiple telcos, so residents aren’t forced to rely on just one provider,’ said Oxales.
‘This avoids a situation where one internet service provider holds a building or community hostage simply because no other operator was given access.’
In August, the Konektadong Pinoy bill, or the Open Access in Data Transmission bill, lapsed into law.
A key feature of this is the removal of a legislative franchise or Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) as a requirement to allow new and smaller players to invest in data transmission infrastructure. /mr