PLDT seeks representation in Konektadong Pinoy IRR

MANILA, Philippines — If the Konektadong Pinoy Act is signed into law, telco giant PLDT Inc. has one request: Give industry incumbents their inputs in crafting the implementing rules and regulations (IRR).

The country’s largest telco is preparing for the possibility that the Konektadong Pinoy Act would lapse into law by the end of the week, with a few days left before the deadline on Aug. 24.

President Marcos could still veto the measure as suggested by telcos, but the Chief Executive has yet to signal a direction on what decision he is going to make.

PLDT chief legal counsel Joan de Venecia-Fabul said the telco is planning ahead by seeking a seat at the table in firming up the IRR. She said while the IRR can no longer reverse what the law says, it can at least tighten the screws on security and spectrum concerns.

The enrolled bill of the Konektadong Pinoy Act mandates data transmission industry participants (DTIPs) to secure cybersecurity certification in two years.

De Venecia-Fabul said the IRR can provide a cybersecurity framework on how DTIPs would be monitored in the lead-up to two years when the certification is required.

On the measure’s alleged bias to satellite solutions, De Venecia-Fabul said the IRR can be used to apply an across-the-board guideline to promote technology neutrality.

“For it to be not constitutionally objectionable, the tightening of the screws must be applied to all (so) it cannot be singling out a particular technology,” she said.

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. CEO and co-founder Dennis Anthony Uy also called for tighter oversight in the IRR and urged government, led by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), to involve providers if the time comes for an IRR.

“All of this should be in the framework to make sure regulations are in place. The private sector needs to work with the government to support the IRR and every angle should be protected,” Uy said.

The Konektadong Pinoy Act will ease the barriers for entry in the connectivity industry by lifting the requirement for a congressional franchise to operate in the Philippines.

This is expected to attract more providers and lower internet prices, but telcos are opposing it on concerns relating to national security, spectrum allocation and technology bias.