Bayan Muna: Telecoms industry should be nationalized to safeguard consumers
The Duterte administration’s call for “immediate steps to ease foreign investment limits” in the country “will only open up the Philippine economy to further foreign strangle and unjust control, particularly the basic and strategic industries, like telecommunications, infrastructure, health and media.”
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“Pres. Duterte’s statement is now a signal for Congress to rush up the passage of Resolution of Both Houses No. 8 or Charter Change, now unmasked as nothing but mainly to allow foreign ownership of business’ in the country. On the other hand, recently the House also passed on third reading House Bills 6557 and 6558, all designed to liberalize the telecommunications sector,” said Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate (Party List, Bayan Muna).
“Also passed in early September by a 135-8 vote, House Bill No. 5828 that would amend Commonwealth Act No. 146 (the Public Service Act) which limits the definition of “public utility” to three (3) types of business : water distribution, sewerage and power transmission,” he said.
“We voted NO to these bills, because we believe that further liberalization of the telecommunications sector among other strategic services will not result to better services for our people even if China, Malacanang’s preferred investor, or, other countries enter the sector,” added Zarate.
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“Moreover, Bayan Muna also believes that government’s role in a utility imbued with public interests like telecommunications should not only be limited to oversight, but instead of a more active participation and control,” he added.
Internet service in the Philippines is one of the worst in the world -seventh slowest, besting only the likes of Iraq, Afghanistan and Ethiopia. It is also one of the most expensive in the world based on man-hours per unit of data. However, Bayan Muna believes history has proven that opening it up to new players will not play into the favor of our consumers.
“Liberalization and privatization failed to deliver the promised efficient, affordable and good services for our people. Our power industry, for instance, was liberalized and opened up to a “free market” competition, but it has, in fact, only resulted to sky-high electricity rates, 5th highest in the world. It also did not necessarily result to better services or succeeded in bringing power to a wider part of our country sides,” Rep. Zarate said.
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In other sectors, like MRT, oil, mining and agriculture, privatization and liberalization of these key industries worked against the favor of the Filipino people.
Bayan Muna filed House Bill 3876 or An Act Expanding The Powers Of The National Telecommunications Commission Classifying Short Messaging Service, And Internet Services As Utilities Imbued With Public Interest And Providing Penalties Thereof, last year, and, the same was later included in the substituted HB 6557 and HB 6558.
Rep. Zarate, however, withdrew as co-author of the said substituted bills because “they no longer reflect the objectives for which Bayan Muna filed HB 3876, that is, to ensure the interests of the Filipino people in the arena of telecommunications.”
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“We filed HB 3876 because we intend to echo the call of consumers that government should lead the creation of a national telecommunications and internet infrastructure in order to interconnect the different islands of the country. This is a monumental task and shall need government resources as it would cover areas unprofitable for the telecommunication companies to build its facilities. It challenges our government to nationalize the telecom industry to transform the profit-driven industry into a public utility in its truest sense,” Rep. Zarate added.
Moreover, Bayan Muna’s proposed measure seeks to rationalize and strengthen government regulation of the industry by clearly defining the powers of the National Telecommunications Commission through the formulation of provisions specific and categorical to the industry. It also increased the fines to be imposed, which is also indexed with inflation to ensure maximum compliance on the side of telecommunication companies and internet service providers.
However, while HB 6558 adopted the proposed increased fines, it removed provisions for government to develop a national telecommunications and internet infrastructure that will provide, among others, a nationwide interconnection platform among different government offices and local government units.
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The role of government as a mere regulator of the industry will not suffice to ensure public interest in telecommunications. As long as it is being run to generate profits, if not super profit, the industry will never respond to the needs and interest of the people. The state’s direct participation and control of the industry as an internet and telecom provider would reverse this profit-driven thrust.
“We believed that the proposed substitute bills do not reflect the original objective of Bayan Muna’s HB 3876, which was built under the framework of nationalization rather than liberalization and further privatization” he said.
“Our people need faster, more reliable, and more inclusive communications facilities. This will never happen while we are at the mercy and whims of big, private telecommunication networks or telco oligarchs. The state has to advance its economic agenda by taking hold of telecommunications and other basic services,” Zarate said. (Bayan Muna Party List)
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