ICT group upbeat about Marcos' plans for sector

An internet and information and communications technology (ICT) rights advocacy group on Tuesday lauded President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for a comprehensive State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Democracy.Net.PH said Marcos’ vision as laid out in his speech was a “good start” and “somehow bodes well” with the ICT sector.

“It remains to be seen whether or not vision will be translated to national policies, plans, programs, and guidelines that will have a concrete impact on the ICT sector and on the lives of each individual Filipino, and whether or not the President will be a champion of ICT rights, governance, development, and security,” it said in a press statement.

According to the group, Marcos raised various points that are vital in promoting ICT rights, governance, development, and security in the country including the digitalization and decentralization of government records and archives stored in warehouses.

“For ICT advocates like Democracy.Net.PH, it brings to the fore the key to 21st century ICT: that for 21st century ICT to be effective, efficient, and reliable ICT has to be decentralized, distributed, and redundant,” it said.

“Also, by ensuring decentralization, distribution, and redundancy, ICT becomes more secure because the content that attackers want to acquire is not centralized and thus cannot be exfiltrated and stolen in bulk,” it added.

Marcos’ plans, the group said, may be achieved through the passage of several measures including the proposed e-Governance Act.

“The President has included some of these among his desired legislative priorities; Congress should heed his call and more,” it said.

As for his push for connectivity for all Filipinos, the group said the chief executive should strengthen the implementation of the Free Internet in Public Places Act" as the “core element” of his proposed “Broadband ng Masa” program.

This should be complemented by the establishment of a common tower program which can be further improved by a common passive ICT infrastructure policy and a "dig once" policy, it added.

“Both policies should already be included in the National Land Use Act proposed by the President,” Democracy.Net.PH said.

Further, the advocacy group backed the President’s call for new power resources saying having cheap and reliable energy will “contribute to the growth of ICT industries, such as traditional data centers, hyperscalers, CDNs, and other key ICT industries and businesses."

Democracy.Net.PH said it will watch Marcos’ career “with great interest” as it vowed to continue its advocacy under the new administration.

“Democracy.Net.PH will continue to be involved in ICT advocacy during the PBBM administration, and will continue to push for the promotion of rights, governance, development, and security in the ICT space,” it said.—LDF, GMA News