Tolentino chides DICT over free Wi-Fi law
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2019 06:22:35 +0000
TOLENTINO (FB photo)
TANGUB, Misamis Occidental – A Senate investigation into the failure of the Department of Information and Communications Technology to fully implement the free Wi-Fi law is imperative as access to Internet service has become a staple for information and communications needs of Filipinos.
Speaking before a huge crowd that jampacked the Hugpong ng Pagbabago rally at the Sinanduloy Cultural Center here yesterday, senatorial candidate Francis Tolentino chided the DICT for its inability to fully implement Republic Act No. 10929 or the Free Internet Access Program that President Duterte signed in 2017.
Citing a Commission on Audit annual audit report for the DICT, Tolentino said the rate of implementation of free Wi-Fi in public places remained too low despite the availability of enough funds that would have guaranteed compliance to the law.
Tolentino, a former political adviser to Duterte, said the law was supposed to provide free Wi-Fi for Internet services in schools, city and municipal halls, public plazas and parks, government hospitals, airports and seaports, public libraries, and other public places identified by the law.
He revealed that CoA observed that while the law and the means to implement it have been made readily available by the Duterte administration, the DICT’s lackluster performance resulted in minimal program accomplishment.
“Filipinos spend four hours and 19 minutes in the Internet. Tayo na ang No. 1 sa mundo na gumagamit ng Wi-Fi,” the administration senatorial bet pointed out.
Saying that he was robbed of a Senate post when he joined the senatorial race for the first time in 2016, Tolentino said he would have pushed Senate to exercise its oversight powers to ensure full implementation of RA 10929.
Given a chance to serve as senator, the former Tagaytay mayor vowed to pursue the swift and full implementation of the free Wi-Fi law which will be among the three top priorities included in his ‘to-do list.”
“We cannot live without Internet these days. It has become as important as water and electricity,” he explained. (Ben Rosario)