Senators pressed the country’s major telecommunication companies Thursday to address the slow Internet speed in the Philippines and help boost the government’s distance learning initiatives especially in the provinces.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts, and Culture, said stakeholders should take advantage of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2 which provides for a suspension of the documentary requirements and permits in building cell towers.
“When school opens on Oct. 5, we have a total of 27.9 million learners -- 24.5 million kinder to senior high school and 3.4 million in the tertiary level expected to depend on Internet connectivity,” Gatchalian said.
“We can anticipate Internet congestion especially during peak hours when most, if not all, are online for their distance learning,” he said.
Sen. Grace Poe, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Public Services, agreed, saying telcos need to improve Internet services now more than ever, as the pandemic only underscored the need for better Internet service for students and people working from home.
“Connectivity on its own, is not the great equalizer, but it’s crucial,” Poe stressed.
Under Bayanihan 2, telcos are given a three-year window to construct cell towers minus the issuance of close to 40 permits from concerned national agencies and local government units (LGUs).
Except for the building permit, the law also temporarily suspends for three years the requirements to secure other permits and clearances for the construction of telecommunications and Internet infrastructure.
“Education is key in lifting people out of poverty. Keeping them deprived of Internet services is akin to condemning them to poverty,” Poe said in a separate statement.
“The pandemic only underscored the heightened need for better Internet service for students and people working from home. Connectivity on its own, is not the great equalizer but it’s crucial,” she stressed.