Ensuring Konektadong Pinoy

The most talked-about Konektadong Pinoy Bill is on the desk of our President and will soon lapse into law. For years, Filipinos have endured some of the slowest and most expensive internet in our Asian region, despite being among the heaviest users of the Internet and social media.

This bill, once it becomes a law and after the passage of its Implementing Rules, should open the gates of the data transmission industry to new international players, to the extent of removing the requirement of a Congressional franchise, and requiring existing companies to share infrastructure instead of duplicating costly networks. The idea is simple and powerful: The more competition, the wider the reach, and the better the service.

This is reminiscent of past policies that broke purported monopolies or duopolies over other industries, such as oil, aviation, telecommunications, etc. Indeed, bold reforms often come with difficult trade-offs, and a lawsuit was suggested to block the passage of the bill.

Critics further warn that in lowering barriers to entry, the bill could inadvertently lower defenses as well. New entrants —whether small local firms or foreign-backed ventures — are given three years before they must fully comply with cybersecurity safeguards. That grace period, skeptics argue, is an open door for vulnerabilities. Others question provisions on data sovereignty, fearing that requiring all data to be stored locally will drive up costs and discourage international providers from entering the market.

It is also worth looking across our borders. Singapore has built one of the most reliable digital networks in Asia not by walling off data, but by crafting strong accountability rules for how companies move information across borders. Thailand avoided rigid localization as well, allowing cross-border transfers as long as protections are in place. Indonesia and Vietnam, on the other hand, leaned toward strict data residency rules, requiring certain information to be stored and processed domestically.

The Philippines is caught in between. The Konektadong Pinoy Act is ambitious as it could democratize access in ways that past reforms never achieved. But its success will not only be measured in megabits per second. It will depend on whether we can connect millions of unserved Filipinos without exposing them to cyber threats that could undermine trust in the very networks we seek to expand.

One way to strike that balance is to look at tools outside the traditional regulatory playbook. For instance, “cyber insurance” may not sound as transformative as satellites or fiber cables, but it can quietly reinforce resilience. By mandating providers, especially new entrants, to carry coverage, the Government would ensure that there is a financial backstop in case of breaches or outages. Insurers do not hand out policies lightly — they demand specific standards of security before granting protection.

It is not a silver bullet, and it cannot replace careful oversight. Konektadong Pinoy offers the promise of a more connected nation. Embedding cyber insurance into its implementation could make that promise.