Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. _______________
Introduced by ANG PROBINSYANO
Party-List Representative Alfred Delos Santos
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Article XIV, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution is explicitly clear about
the State having to protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality
education at all levels and to take appropriate steps to make such education
accessible to all.
Obviously, the existence of the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupting the
traditional means and modes of academic instruction and learning, just
makes the fulfillment of this mandate all the more critical.
As of now, one of the best ways to carry out this responsibility is by
securing
stable,
reliable
internet
connectivity
for all students in the
country.
Indeed, on June 22, 2020, it was reported to the Joint Congressional
Oversight Committee that internet connection is an incredible hurdle for
students:
2) Internet connection
- Weak or no internet connection in low-income or far-flung barangays and
no available smart-technology devices or gadgets in vulnerable communities
to avail webinars and online sessions
- Not all microbusiness owners in Pateros have good internet access and
they still opt to have physical interaction to easily raise their concerns and
have it addressed immediately
- Difficulty in the conduct of program launching online with at least 100
pax/barangay
- Poor internet connections in most of the barangays, that's why the only
option is to convene all participants in common place, and just limit the
number of participants to 15
August 16, 2022
1:05 pm
3664


- There are recently confirmed cases in some areas, particularly in Echague,
Isabela. Thus difficulty to do buy-in as the town is under GCQ
- Due
to
poor internet connection,
there
is
a
difficulty
in
conducting
webinars, resulting to face to face encounter and increase in expenses for
supplies and physical arrangements
- Conduct
of online orientation
and Business Development Activities is
conducive only to urban barangays. Most rural barangays may not have
mobile signal or have poor connection to mobile data. Using mobile data
would also mean additional cost to them so imagine them spending for
mobile data for more than one hour's worth of viewing? Further, NSB has be
done face to face, and not thru online, if we are to go back to the program's
objective which is to reach remote barangays.
It was shown that these problems still persists as recent as October 6,
2020:1
Despite the effort that goes into printing materials, K-12 teachers are still
expected to be available for consultations either online (usually through
Facebook Messenger) or by text. This requires a laptop and an internet
connection, which is out of reach for many public school teachers, whose
starting monthly salary is PHP 22,000 (USD 420). 
Many students, too, still need the internet to do supplemental research on
more
complex assignments. That’s a problem, given a DepEd survey
showing that, of the 6.5 million students who have access to the internet,
approximately 20 percent use computer shops or other public places to go
online. Worse, 2.8 million students have no way of going online at all. This
is especially common in the rural areas where 53 percent of the population
live and where both internet access and speed can be a challenge.
The southern Philippine province of Siargao, for example, lies within the
areas that have the slowest internet connection. Provincial government data
indicates that less than 30 percent of the student population have internet
access and there are some 600 students in “off-the-grid schools,” which
includes schools in island villages that do not have electricity and are so
remote that they can only be accessed by boat.
There, lack of in-person classes is having big effects. The 500 residents of
the Halian island village in Siargao have electricity only from 6pm to 9pm. 
Teachers must travel to the nearest urban center via motorized boat to get
printed modules. It is a voyage that can take up to two hours. “Most of the
residents here are fisherfolk. Many do not have sufficient formal schooling
and worry [about] how they will help their children answer these learning
modules when their children probably know more than them,” said village
captain Elsa Tampos. Distance education cannot solve these geographical
disparities.
In January 7, 2021, these problems remain unresolved:2
MANILA (Reuters) - Since the pandemic forced him into remote learning,
10-year-old Jhay Ar Calma has often had to climb on to the corrugated iron
roof of his home in a poor neighbourhood of Manila to get an internet signal.
2 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-education-widerimage-idUSKBN29B31C
1 https://eu.boell.org/en/2020/10/06/philippines-distance-learning-reveals-digital-divide


Up on the roof, he sits on a broken plastic basin and hopes there’ll be a
signal strong enough for his government-issued device.
“Sometimes we change the SIM card to a different provider so he doesn’t
have to study on the roof, but there’s rarely enough money to spare for
that,” Calma’s mother Jonalyn Parulan told Reuters.
x x x
In Laguna province, south of Manila, students trek up a mountain to get
internet access, and have even built a hut to provide shelter when it rains
and to sleep when they work late into the nights on assignments.
This situation is a far cry from the university life Rosemine Gonzaga, 19,
had anticipated.
“I was really excited for college because all my life I’ve been here in the
mountains,” Gonzaga said, explaining how the pandemic had thwarted her
plans for an independent life in the town.
Like many students in her community, she relies on a scholarship and fears
she may lose it if she is unable to keep up with lessons. Still, Gonzaga is
resolved to continue online classes rather than risk infection attending
university.
“The pandemic is no reason for me to stop learning,” she said.
Mark Joseph Andal, 18, who lives in San Juan, Batangas province, has
taken a part-time job in construction to purchase a smartphone for virtual
classes and has also built a forest shelter to capture an internet signal.
When the signal fades, Andal picks up his plastic chair to move to another
spot, and if it rains, he holds the phone in one hand and an umbrella in the
other.
Hence
the
need
for
this
Bill.
It
shall
mobilize
the
National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC), have it identify key areas where
reliable cyber infrastructure shall be established, to then provide universal,
comprehensive, reliable, and wireless internet connection for all.
It is for the foregoing premises that the approval of this Bill is
earnestly sought.
ALFRED C. DELOS SANTOS
Representative, Ang Probinsyano Party-List


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. _______________
Introduced by ANG PROBINSYANO
Party-List Representative Alfred Delos Santos
AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A UNIVERSAL, COMPREHENSIVE, RELIABLE, AND
ACCESSIBLE WIRELESS INTERNET CONNECTION TO FACILITATE THE
DELIVERY OF DIGITAL EDUCATION AMID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Be it enacted by the Senate and the 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 2022.”
SECTION 2.
Declaration of Policy. – In recognition of the vital role of
information and communications technology in nation-building, the State
declares its policy to promote an environment for the development of
infrastructure that would ensure the availability and accessibility to reliable
and secure internet access suitable to the needs and aspirations of the
nation. The State shall therefore institutionalize the delivery of education
digitally
by
providing
universal,
comprehensive,
reliable,
and
wireless
internet connection for all.
SECTION 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.
SECTION 4. Universal Wireless Internet Connection Access. – The NTC
shall
identify
key
areas
where
reliable
cyber
infrastructure
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 is little to no cyber infrastructure available
and accessible, so as to cater to the demands of the digital age.
SECTION 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.
3664


SECTION 6. Appropriations. – The funds necessary for the initial
implementation of this Act shall be charged against the appropriations of
the
Department
of
Department
of
Information
and
Communications
Technology (DICT), Department of Education (DepEd), and the Commission
on Higher Education (CHED). Thereafter, funding shall be included in the
budgets
of
the
DICT,
DepEd,
and
CHED
under
the
annual
General
Appropriations Act.
SECTION 7. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within thirty (30)
days after this Act takes effect, the DICT, through the NTC, DepEd, and
CHED,
in
consultation
and
coordination with appropriate government
agencies, representatives from the private sector, and other stakeholders,
shall promulgate the necessary implementing rules and regulations for the
effective implementation of this Act.
SECTION 8. Separability Clause. – If any provision or part of this Act
is
held invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions or parts
unaffected shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION
9.
Repealing
Clause.
–
All
laws,
executive
orders,
presidential decrees or issuances, letters of instruction, administrative
orders, rules, and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
SECTION 10. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15)
days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general
circulation.
Approved,