SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHIILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
S. No.
68
6
BILLS
Introduced by Senator Ralph G. Recto
AN ACT
EXPANDING THE COVERAGE AND STRENGTHENING THE POWERS OF THE 
NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (NTC) AMENDING FOR THE 
PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT 
NO. 
7925 
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS 
THE 
PUBLIC 
TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF THE PHILIPPINES
Explanatory Note
Telecommunications has undeniably become one of the drivers of economic growth and cultural 
development in any society. The Philippines has been tagged as one of the fastest growing mobile markets 
and online population in Asia, with a unique mobile subscriber growth averaging 6% from 2011 to 2015 
and Internet access growth of 500% for the same period, the fastest rate in Southeast Asia.1 It is also 
known as the “texting capital of the world” and the “social media capital of the world” at various times 
over the last few years. Indeed, the Philippines has an advanced mobile and Internet market when 
compared to other developing countries.
Telecommunications in the country has undergone several phases of development since the 
telegraphy and the automatic telephone systems were first introduced in the Philippines in the early 1900s. 
Back then, teleeommunications serviees were governed by an office under the Bureau of Posts. During 
the pre-liberalization period of teleeommunieations, the regulatory bodies have been constantly 
reorganized and transferred to different government agencies. Finally, in 1979, the National 
Telecommunications Commission (NTC) was created by virtue of Executive Order No. 546 as an attached 
agency of the then Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is the agency that exercises jurisdiction 
over the supervision, adjudication and control over all telecommunications services. Meanwhile, the law 
which provides the comprehensive guideline in regulating the Philippine telecommunications industry 
and improving the delivery of public telecommunications services, is contained in Republic Act No. 7925 
or the Public Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines which was passed on February 20, 1995 
and is principally administered by the NTC.
Also, R.A. No. 7925 strengthened the quasi-judicial functions of the NTC as the main regulator 
and clearly delineated its role from that of the Department of Transportation and Communications 
(DOTC). However, the law was passed at a time when only 1,164 municipalities have telephone access, 
there were still 700,000 remaining applications for telephone lines nationwide, PLDT had only less than 
2 million telephones in service, there were only a measly 493,862 cellular mobile phone subscribers; and 
pagers and trunk repeaters were still being used.2
The Philippine telecom landscape has already significantly changed more than twenty years into 
the passage of R.A. No. 7925. Today, there are almost 6 million telephone lines installed, over 130 million 
cellular mobile phone subscribers, 47 million active internet users; and smartphones, laptops, tablets, 
wearable technical device, among others, are now being used for communication and information sharing.
1 Country overview: Philippines Growth through innovation 2014. GSMA intelligence.
https://www.gsmaintelligcnce.coin/research/?file=141201-nhilior)ines.ndf&download. Accessed on June 29, 2016.
2 The Philippine Telecommunications Industry by Ruperto Alonzo and Wilbcrto San Pedro, PIDS Development Research News, 
1996. httt>://dirp4.pids.gov.ph/ris/dm/pidsdm96-4.ndf. Accessed on June 29, 2016