EDITORIAL - No internet access

Households with access to the internet rose to 13.56 million nationwide last year, or 48.8 percent, from the 17.7 percent in 2019, according to a survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

While any improvement is a positive development, it’s still disheartening to know that more than half of households nationwide still lack internet access in the digital age. This lack of access to one of the basic learning tools can only aggravate the education crisis that the country faces.

Not surprisingly, the highest internet access was recorded in the National Capital Region, where people also spent the most for digital connectivity, according to the 2024 National Information and Communications Technology Survey of the PSA and the DICT.

The lowest was recorded in the poorest region of the country, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, followed by the Zamboanga Peninsula.

While internet access has become cheaper in the past five years, the survey showed that the cost of internet subscription remained the top reason for households not having internet connectivity. This was followed by the cost of devices needed to access the internet.

These problems also emerged at the height of the COVID pandemic, when the government was forced to shift to remote learning modes. Students and teachers alike did not have internet access at home along with the computers or smartphones needed for hybrid learning.

Digitalization in public schools suffered another setback when a procurement deal for laptops for teachers during the pandemic lockdowns became mired in a corruption scandal. Budget and education officials at the time now face indictment for the procurement of laptops that the Office of the Ombudsman deemed to be overpriced and outdated.

The government has rolled out a Free Public Internet Access Program. As of March 31 this year, the DICT has reported activating 17,966 “Free WiFi for All” sites nationwide, with a focus on geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.

Such sites are available in national and local government offices, public education institutions and health centers, libraries as well as some public parks and barangay reading centers. The government aims to extend the free WiFi to transport terminals, public airports and seaports.

But WiFi is still best accessed from the home, especially amid a ramped-up shift to e-governance. Greater effort is needed to enable more households to have internet access.