Recto, Angara count on Gringo to fully implement free Wi-Fi nationwide

Two senators are counting on newly-appointed Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gregorio Honasan II to fix bugs of the free nationwide Wi-Fi program.

Senate Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto congratulated Honasan, whom he called as a Senate classmate for 15 years, in his new job as head of the DICT. 

Recto expressed confidence that Honasan, knowing him to be mission-oriented, will be time-on-target in meeting the timetable for the completion of needed reforms in the IT sector, which underpins the economy.

“Of particular interest to me, and the general public, is the delay in the rollout of the Free Public Wi-Fi hotspots, a program he ardently supported in the Senate,” Recto said.

He said the government has appropriated almost P8 billion since the project's inception in 2015.

But as of June 2019, only 2,677 sites have been made operational, out of the cumulative target of 34,236 sites by end of the year, Recto said.

“If this pace will not accelerate, the target of installing 100,349 sites by 2026 will be impossible to meet,” he said.

He said the free Wi-Fi hotspots project should not crawl like the present speed of internet in the country.

“I am, however, optimistic that Secretary Greg will fix the bugs of this program and implement a catch up plan that will cover other areas of concern as well. I wish him Godspeed,” he said.

Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, meanwhile, urged Honasan to fast-track the setting up of free internet in the country’s state universities and colleges (SUC), a program which has been plagued by delays.

“Hindi lang libreng tuition, libreng Wi-Fi din,” he said.

He said out of the country’s 112 SUCs, only 17 have been installed free Wi-Fi hotspots as of December 2018, based on DICT data submitted to the Senate during the hearings for the 2019 national budget.

“That’s a low 15 percent accomplishment rate,” he said.

“These institutions of higher learning are supposed to be priority areas in the roll-out plan but it appears that they have become last-mile targets,” he added.

Angara expressed confidence “that with Secretary Honasan at the helm of DICT, this program will be carried out with a greater sense of urgency.”

“At hindi lang siguro ‘yung setting up ng free Wi-Fi ang pabilisin pero yung internet speed na rin,” he added.

He said faster internet remains to be attained in a country, which, ironically, has one of the highest social media subscription rates in the world.

The senator said schools have been identified as priority sites for the implementation of the Nationwide Free Public Internet Access Program authorized under Republic Act 10929, of which he is a co-author.

He said funding for the implementation of the program should not be a problem because annually, Congress has been providing appropriations to implement the law.

The senator said the free public Wi-Fi project has a total budget of P1.7 billion for 2018, of which P326 million is for the installation of hotspots in SUCs, while the balance of P1.36 billion is for other public areas such as town halls, airports and other transportation terminals.

He said DICT officials, upon questioning by senators, admitted that they had utilized only 10 percent of the P1.7 billion appropriated for 2018.

“Hindi ko alam kung ano na ang latest progress. But the election ban on certain types of government spending, the delay in the enactment of the national budget, plus the existing institutional weaknesses in project procurement have surely affected the implementation,” Angara said. — RSJ, GMA News