It’s Past Time

By: Prences Jhewen Albis

Access to the Internet has become a sore spot for the Philippines lately. Now that most
people rely on the internet to study and work at home, they're experiencing that their
providers are slow, inefficient, or worse, inaccessible.

According to data from an Ookla report, the Philippines chugs along at 86th, making it one of
the countries with the slowest and least stable Internet. What does it mean? The numbers
don’t lie. This report reflects the poor state of connectivity in the Philippines and its struggle
for improvement. These are negatively affecting the lives of Filipinos especially the students
and the education sector.

As shown in a new study from Michigan State University's Quello Center, slow Internet
speeds or restricted access especially from rural homes may lead to students falling behind
academically. Academic failure, college admissions, and job prospects will all be adversely
affected by educational setbacks.

Poor internet access can also cause distress to our student's mental health, just like what
happened to a 21-year-old college student from Zone 1, Sta. Elena, Iriga City who committed
suicide despite showing no signs of suicidal thoughts, according to her parents. They
emphasized that their daughter was pressured because of online classes, which were
disrupted by a slow internet connection. 

The opening of the new school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic is a huge challenge not
only for the Department of Education but for all education stakeholders in achieving quality
education for all due to slow internet connection. DepEd Undersecretary and spokesperson
Annalyn Sevilla, in a CNN Philippines interview, assured that the agency continues to find
ways to address the existing and emerging concerns in the implementation of blended
learning this school year but said that Internet connectivity problems are beyond its control.

We can see how difficult it is to implement solutions for this problem. However, there is one
approach that may assist in improving Internet connectivity in the Philippines, and that is
making internet access a basic service. But since internet access is just a value-added
facility, the government cannot fully regulate internet accessibility under the Public Service
Act of 1936. And though we live in the information age, the government still follows a rule
from 1936, a time when the internet has not even been invented.

It's past time to modify the Public Service Act up to date. The government will be able to use
amendments to press for improved connectivity and more accessible Internet in our country if
this legislation was revised. They need to start acting now or else, the learners especially in
rural areas will have no choice but to scale roofs and mountains just to look for internet
signals.