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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 5802

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EXPLANATORY NOTE

Under Section 24 of Article Il of the Constitution, itis provided that: “The State recognizes the
Vital role of communication and information in nation building”. The COVID-19 pandemic has
heightened the relevance of this Constitutional provision. Now, more than ever, going digital
is inevitable and necessary.

‘The UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Facebook have conducted a study using
the 2020 Inclusive Internet Index with 100 countries as participants. In said study, the
Philippines obtained an overall ranking of 63°, and 19" out of 26 nations in the Asia-Pacific
region. It ranked 57th in the area of availability; 82nd in affordability; 59th in relevance and
59th in readiness.’ The statistics are quite disappointing considering that Filipinos are proven
to be heavy users of the Internet. In a report called Digital 2019, Filipinos are found to spend
an average of 10 hours a day on the internet.? Despite this, the Philippines literally lags behind
when it comes to the average global internet speed.

Inclusive internet availability and access is indispensable now that the whole world is forced
to stay athome. Itis an essential investment especially for the education sector which is largely
affected due to the disruption of classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is important to err on the side of caution with this COVID-19 crisis by shifting to digital
education instead of conducting face-to-face classes until a COVID-19 vaccine is made
available to all Filipinos.

Thus, it is the intent of this bill to create a solid and robust Philippine cyberinfrastructure that
will continuously deliver the connectivity that students need in this digital age. Reliable and
fast internet connection must be accessible to all, much like electricity and clean water as
basic human necessities.

The immediate passage of this bill is most earnestly sought.

§ HIPOLITO CASTELO

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 8802

Introduced by the Honorable Precious Hipolito Castelo

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A UNIVERSAL, COMPREHENSIVE, RELIABLE AND ACCESSIBLE
WIRELESS INTERNET CONNECTION IN ORDER TO FACILITATE THE DELIVERY OF
DIGITAL EDUCATION AMID THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) PANDEMIC

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Universal Wireless Internet
Connection Act of 2020".

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State hereby recognizes the vital role of
information and communications technology in nation-building, and declares its policy to
promote an environment for the development of infrastructures that would ensure the
availability and accessibility to reliable and secure internet access suitable to the needs and
aspirations of the nation. Towards this end, the State shall institutionalize the delivery of
education digitally by providing universal, comprehensive, reliable and wireless internet
connection for all.

SEC. 3. Minimum Internet Speed Requirement. - The National Telecommunications
Commission (NTC) shall set the minimum standards of internet speed for compliance of all
internet service providers (ISPs) in the country.

SEC. 4. Universal Wireless Intemet Connection Access. ~ The NTC shall identify key
areas where reliable cyber infrastructures shall be established. Such key areas shall be
strategic locations which must be able to maximize internet connectivity reach throughout the
‘country, especially in the rural areas where there are litle to no cyber infrastructures available
and accessible in order to cater to the demands of the digital age.

SEC. 5. Mechanisms for Free Student Internet Access. - The NTC shall come up with
‘a mechanism that will provide students free, fast and reliable internet access.

SEC. 6. Implementing Rules and Regulations. ~ Within thirty (30) days from the
effectivity of this Act, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT),
through the NTC, the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education
(CHED) shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to effectively implement the
provisions of this Act.

SEC. 7. Appropriations. — The funds necessary for the initial implementation of this Act
shall be charged against the appropriations of the DICT, DepEd and CHED. Thereafter,
funding shall be included in the budget of the DICT, DepEd and CHED under the annual
General Appropriations Act.


SEC. 8. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain
valid and subsisting.

SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. — Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent
with, the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.

SEC. 10. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,