Aquino: Free WiFi Law to benefit more Filipinos

Senator Bam Aquino stressed on Monday, 15 September, that the full rollout of Republic Act 10929, or the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act, will benefit more ordinary Filipinos, especially those who cannot afford internet connectivity.

During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology, which he chairs, Aquino said reliable internet access has become a basic necessity for education, work, and daily life and should be made available in schools, markets, hospitals, transportation hubs, and government offices across the country.

"As we push to implement the Free WiFi Law, all Filipinos should benefit from it. Because access to the Internet is access to knowledge. Access to the upliftment of our lives," Aquino said.

The senator was the principal sponsor and co-author of the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act in 2017 during his stint as chairperson of the Committee on Science and Technology.

Aquino said that the Free WiFi Law should not only benefit students and teachers but also commuters, entrepreneurs, and families who rely on dependable connectivity for information, business growth, and communication.

"We want to see our law implemented properly and be beneficial to Filipinos," he continued.

"The first step for us to fast-track this is to find out what the plans are, whether there is funding, and what the responsibility of each agency is in implementing the Free Internet Access Program in Public Places Act," he added.

Aquino also urged telecommunications companies to extend discounted internet rates to the Department of Education to help ease the connectivity burden of public schools.

"Our schools have their own subscription. How about we consider coming up with a bulk deal with our telco partners?" Aquino asked following a disclosure that only 2,872 out of 58,121 public schools are currently connected to the Free WiFi program, leaving the vast majority on private telecommunications providers for Internet access.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology, for its part, is committed to connecting the remaining 11,964 unconnected public schools in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas to the free internet program by the end of the year.