By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter
THE completion of the government’s national fiber backbone and energy projects will help drive growth in rural areas, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) said.
IBPAP President and Chief Executive Officer Jack Madrid said that the group welcomed President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s call to prioritize the strengthening of internet access for more households.
“I think this is very important. Penetration rate and quality of internet access need to be improved. So it is important that he talked about strengthening the power grid and fiber backbone, especially in Visayas and Mindanao,” he told BusinessWorld via telephone. Mr. Madrid said that the energy issues on Panay Island in April had an impact on the industry’s operations in the area.
“As soon as that Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone project is completed, that should help stabilize power stability and prevent outages again in Panay, and that’s important for our industry because much of the growth of our industry will be in the countryside,” he added.
At his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), Mr. Marcos noted the continuous efforts to upgrade capacity and connectivity across the country.
“As part of our internet infrastructure development, phase 1 of the National Fiber Backbone has been completed and operationalized,” he said.
“Phases 2 and 3 have already begun early this year and will be completed by 2026. This fiber backbone will give us sufficient capacity in terms of bandwidth,” he added.
He said that the fiber backbone aims to address the 33% of households still not connected to the internet as of 2022.
“Together with our private sector partners, we will efficiently harness the concept of common towers to provide connectivity to Filipinos who are at the far end of the last mile,” Mr. Marcos said.
“Expect full government support to ensure the successful completion of this critical project, including policy reforms and streamlined processes,” he added.
Mr. Marcos said that the completion of the Cebu-Negros-Panay backbone project will help stabilize the power situation in the Western and Central Visayas regions and avert the recurrence of power outages there.
Meanwhile, Mr. Madrid said that the completion of the fiber backbone and energy projects will also be important for education, which is also a priority for the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry, with its reliance on human capital.
“We need more talent than we can currently supply, and so education will be the key. We need to teach our children IT at a younger age and help them become more familiar with how to use AI (artificial intelligence) tools,” he said.
“AI has the potential to make the Filipino agents in our industry more efficient and productive in the kind of work that they do … And given that we are a leader in IT-BPM and our agents are one of the most in demand, I think we have a strong potential to become stronger with AI,” he added.
The prominence given by Mr. Marcos to digital infrastructure in his speech attracted approving comment from the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).
“The ECCP looks forward to the materialization of the government’s digitalization efforts, including the National Cybersecurity Plan, the ethical development of AI, and the establishment of a National Fiber Backbone,” it said in a statement.
“By prioritizing digital infrastructure, the Philippines can foster a more inclusive digital economy and keep pace with modernization,” it added.
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman George T. Barcelon said infrastructure will help in driving growth throughout the country.
“These roads, bridges, and airports are basically needed for the growth to be evenly spread out throughout the country. And then, that will also help two key areas: agriculture and tourism,” Mr. Barcelon told BusinessWorld via telephone.
For its part, the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham) reiterated its call for the passage of the Konektadong Pinoy bill “as it will expand internet connectivity and benefit the many digitalization efforts raised during the President’s speech.”
Aside from addressing the needs of the energy sector, AmCham and ECCP also noted the need to create the Department of Water Resources to address the “country’s long-running water security and supply concerns.”
The ECCP said that the passage of the National Water Resources Act “will ensure that issues and concerns in the sector are handled by a dedicated line agency, providing a better venue for resolving matters relating to water resources.”
Meanwhile, Makati Business Club Executive Director Roberto F. Batungbacal said that although the business group is generally satisfied with the President’s SONA, there are five things they wish the President mentioned during his address to Congress.
“We were hoping he’d talk about the Apprenticeship Bill, enterprise-based education, the Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry Act, and Right of Way Act amendments,” Mr. Batungbacal told BusinessWorld via telephone.