Navotas City lone district Rep. Toby Tiangco (PPAB)

The chairman of the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology says Congress is ready to support President Marcos' call for better connectivity across the Philippines. 

"Sabi nga ng Pangulo, wala dapat maiiwan. Dapat lahat ng Pilipino magkaroon ng access sa Internet," committee chairman, Navotas City lone district Rep. Toby Tiangco said. 

(The President said, nobody must get left behind. Every Filipino must have access to the Internet.) 

“Congress is ready to back the President’s vision, particularly in streamlining processes and institutionalizing reforms necessary for better digital infrastructure," said Tiangco. 

Tiangco also echoed the President's call to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to prioritize its Common Tower Program (CTP) to reach underserved and remote areas. 

"The President's orders are clear--the DICT needs to step up to maximize the benefits of the CTP and provide better connectivity to more Filipinos," he added. 

The CTP was launched to enhance telecommunications infrastructure by promoting the construction of shared towers. 

Through this program, mobile network operators are incentivized to set up more antennas in rural areas with low population densities. 

"Everything starts with connectivity. Only by giving more Filipinos access to reliable internet can we unlock the full potential of our government's digitalization efforts. We hope that DICT will act with urgency in its implementation of CTP," Tiangco said.