By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINES on Wednesday said it seeks to finish this year cable projects that would boost internet connectivity in parts of Luzon and in poor areas in the central and southern parts of the country.

This was after economic managers on Tuesday approved a wider digital infrastructure plan that seeks to bolster the digital economy and beef up defense against cyberthreats.

“This year, we are going to finish phases two and three of the National Fiber Backbone, which connects Metro Manila to Southern Luzon,” Information and Communications Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian C. Dy told a news briefing at the presidential palace.

“With this loan, we should be able to get submarine cables across the Visayas and then connect it to Mindanao,” he added, referring to official development assistance from the World Bank.

The country in June launched the National Fiber Backbone’s first phase, which covers 1,245 kilometers and is composed of 28 nodes from Laoag, Ilocos Norte north of the capital down to Roces district in Quezon City.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board on Tuesday approved the P16.1-billion Philippine Digital Infrastructure project, which complements the fiber backbone program, as the government seeks to connect more Filipinos to online markets and networks.

Under the project that will be financed through official development assistance from the World Bank, the government will set up more than 700 free WiFi sites mostly in Mindanao.

The internet penetration rate in many areas in Mindanao is below 17%, Mr. Dy said.

He said the digital infrastructure project is development-oriented since it prioritizes areas that are not commercially viable for telecommunication companies.

Private telecommunication companies do not have the appetite to boost their internet presence in areas with low internet penetration like the Caraga region in Mindanao, he said.

“Globe, PLDT and Smart wouldn’t bring their services there because the population will not be able to support payment of a commercial internet,” Mr. Dy said. “That’s why they say [this is] a developmental project.”

“When we are there and once we get the cable networks ready, then we can tie up with the local government units and make this available also for fiber,” he added.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology said the long-term digital project, which is expected to be completed by 2028, will encourage local businessmen to become internet service providers.

There’s a 1.38%-increase in the country’s gross domestic product for every 10% increase in internet penetration rate, he said, adding that internet connectivity boosts demand for e-commerce.

“Internet connectivity is a requirement nowadays for the movement of goods,” he said. “E-commerce is two ways — one is e-commerce for the suppliers and of course, e-commerce for the consumers.”

The digital economy accounted for 8.4% or P2.05 trillion of economic output last year.

Mr. Dy said there would be negotiations with the World Bank in the next few days to discuss the interest rate for the P16.1-billion loan. “We hope to start procurement by early next year.”

NEDA on Tuesday said the digital infrastructure project has five components such as a backbone network, a middle-mile network, an access network, network security and project management support.

A network operation center — a centralized location responsible for monitoring telecommunication or satellite networks — will also be established to ensure “the network is not being used for illegal activities.”

“It’s a mitigation of risk.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Dy said Congress should fast-track the approval of a bill that will mandate the private sector to report cyberattacks to the National Government.

“Singapore is only like 6 million people, but they are detecting approximately 18,000 attacks per year,” he said. “We are only detecting around 3,000 per year but we are 118 million Filipinos.”

Mr. Dy said the country has pursued information-sharing with allies to improve the detection of cyberattacks affecting both the public and private sectors.

The country in recent months faced hacking incidents targeting both government and private assets. The hackers were linked to Chinese entities.

The Chinese government has dismissed the allegations.

Mr. Dy said there have been reports in other countries including the United States and the United Kingdom indicating that Chinese actors, but not necessarily the Chinese government, are active in hacking government assets.

He said the best defense against cyberattacks linked to foreign actors is transparency. “They are operating in the dark and we can’t catch them because laws are jurisdictional.”

THE PRESIDENTIAL palace has issued a proclamation reserving a slum area in the district of Tondo, Manila for development under the government’s housing program.

The June 21 proclamation reserved a portion of land in Tondo, Manila identified as Lot 4-A, Csd-00-003715, for the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development’s township development projects.

An inter-agency committee composed of the Human Settlements and Environment departments and city government of Manila will issue the rules that will enforce the proclamation.

In 2020, there were 654,220 people living in Tondo, the largest of Manila’s 16 districts in terms of size and population.

Tondo was the pilot site of the government’s food stamp program launched last year, with more than 2,000 beneficiaries.

In an executive order (EO) last year, Mr. Marcos declared the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) a flagship program of the government. Under 4PH, the government will build a million housing units yearly until 2028.

The order allows the Human Settlements department to identify national and local government lands for housing, including new townships and estates that will be developed with the help of local governments.

It mandated government entities including state corporations and local governments to conduct an inventory of the lands they own and administer, and submit a complete list to the agency.

“The inventory of lands shall include government-owned idle lands or lands that have not been used for the purpose for which they have been originally reserved or set aside for at least 10 years, and on which no improvements have been made by the owner as certified by the concerned local government unit,” according to the order.

It also tasked the Land Registration Authority to help prepare the inventories by providing a list of titles.

Pag-IBIG Fund, a government-owned and controlled corporation, released a record P28.09 billion in housing loans in the first quarter. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza