NEDA pushes anew for approval of Konektadong Pinoy bill

MANILA, Philippines — The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is pushing for the immediate approval of the bill that seeks to enable the delivery of reliable and affordable internet services for all Filipinos.

In a statement yesterday, the NEDA said it made a renewed call for the expedited passage of the Konektadong Pinoy bill or the Open Access in Data Transmission bill during the sixth Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) last Wednesday.

“The Konektadong Pinoy bill is crucial to the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, as it will usher advancements across various sectors, including ICT (information communications technology), education, health and agriculture,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

Composed of representatives from the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Cabinet, the LEDAC chaired by President Marcos sets the government’s legislative priorities, with NEDA acting as the council’s secretariat.

The LEDAC has previously identified the Konektadong Pinoy bill as a priority for passage before the end of the current or the 19th Congress.

The bill has been approved on third and final reading by the House of Representatives and is currently awaiting plenary deliberation in the Senate.

Senate Bill 2699 or the Konektadong Pinoy bill aims to upgrade both physical and digital infrastructure, as well as facilitate the participation of individuals and businesses in the digital economy through access to affordable internet service.

During the meeting, Senate President Francis Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez provided updates on the status of priority bills.

Since the fifth LEDAC meeting held on June 25, two of the 28 priority bills such as the New Government Procurement Act and the Anti-Financial Accounts Scamming Act have been signed into law by the President.

Meanwhile, two other measures approved by Congress such as the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act and the VAT (value-added tax) on Digital Services bill await the President’s signature.

Those in line for approval of the President are the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program Act, Self-Reliant Defense Posture Revitalization Act, Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy or CREATE MORE Act, Philippine Maritime Zones Act, Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act and the Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework Act.

The remaining priority bills targeted for approval within the current Congress are the Blue Economy Act, Amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law, Amendments to the Universal Health Care Act, Amendments to the Right-of-Way Act, Rationalization of the Mining Fiscal Regime, E-Government Act / E-Governance Act, Department of Water Resources, Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Act, Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension of Military and Uniformed Personnel, Waste-to-Energy bill, Amendments to the Agrarian Reform Law, Reforms to Philippine Capital Markets, Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics, Amendments to the Foreign Investors’ Long-Term Lease Act, New Government Auditing Code and the Philippine Immigration Act.