By Darryl John Esguerra | Philippine News Agency
Technology-based organizations in the Philippines have thrown their support behind the proposed Konektadong Pinoy Act, calling it a landmark reform that can modernize the country’s outdated digital infrastructure policies and close the connectivity gap.
In a joint statement issued on Saturday, July 12, six leading industry groups—Global AI Council Philippines, Blockchain Council of the Philippines, Cybersecurity Council of the Philippines, Data Center Association of the Philippines, Fintech Philippines Association, and Go Digital Philippines—lauded the bill’s goals of expanding internet access and improving digital services across the country.
“We express our strong support for the Konektadong Pinoy Act, a critical reform that will modernize the Philippines’ digital infrastructure policy and help close the country’s connectivity gap,” the groups said.
They noted that by updating analog-era regulations, the bill would encourage competition, streamline the entry of new players, enable infrastructure sharing, and improve spectrum management.
The result, the groups said, would be cheaper, faster, and more widely available internet, especially in underserved and remote areas—a persistent issue in the Philippines, where slow and expensive connectivity has long been a barrier to economic inclusion and digital transformation.
The tech groups also underscored the bill’s importance in empowering consumers and businesses.
“The Act is a major step toward building a more inclusive and competitive digital economy. It empowers consumers through better service standards and strengthens the ability of small businesses, startups, and communities to participate meaningfully in the digital space,” the coalition declared.
Coalition urges gov’t to scrap data localization, sovereignty provisions
However, the coalition urged lawmakers to scrap any data localization or sovereignty provisions in the final version of the measure. These refer to requirements that data be stored or processed strictly within Philippine borders.
“Requiring that data be stored or processed only within Philippine territory will drive up business costs, disrupt operations, and limit access to technologies such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI),” they warned.
“This would hurt small and medium enterprises (SMEs) , deter investment, and weaken the competitiveness of the Philippine Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) and digital sectors,” they added.
They added that the country already has existing safeguards under the Data Privacy Act and is aligned with international best practices like the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) Cross-Border Privacy Rules, making data localization unnecessary.
“Data security is not about where data is stored, it is about how it is protected. Localization mandates may even increase cybersecurity risks by hindering coordinated threat detection and response,” the groups stressed.
The tech groups said they are ready to partner with the government in realizing the law’s vision, “The Konektadong Pinoy Act has the potential to be a foundation for digital transformation. We look forward to its passage and to working with the government to realize a more connected Philippines.”
Both houses of Congress ratified the Konektadong Pinoy bill on June 9. It is now up for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s signature to become a law. (PNA)
