The Philippine Online Chronicles

His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Republic of the Philippines

Dear Mr. President,

I write on the heels of your move to create a communications department strong in new media experience and great in understanding of its importance to connect the real people with your administration.  I join people in applauding such strategy.  At the same time, I am mindful you are not Santa Claus and this isn’t Christmas.  I am well aware the nation has real problems and myriad concerns.  This isn't a complaint, and less about seeking a boon.  It is written in the hope you could consider and ponder upon and perhaps one day, act upon it.

Mr. President, I write to you today about 'Internet Freedom,' which is a nascent idea even across the world, but hoping it might find a moment of your time.

The Freedom to Connect

In January 2010, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton gave remarks on Internet Freedom calling it the 'freedom to connect,' and recently Finland became the first nation in the world to make Internet access a right.

In the Philippines Mister President, I’m sure your communications staff has briefed you on this or else you wouldn't have set up your new media strategy.  But let me come out and say it, recent figures have revealed that Facebook has 14 million Filipinos; as of May 2010, Facebook received 9 million unique visitors from the Philippines per month. That's 10 percent of the projected 90 million Filipinos alive today.  Everyone from as young as a five years old to everyone’s Tito Boy and grandfather are using Facebook and by extension, the Internet.

I’m sure you have likewise been told that the Internet is used by Filipinos to connect to the diaspora abroad.  They use video chat to see their OFW moms and dads, even in crowded internet cafes.  They exchange pictures on Facebook.  They tell stories and jokes.  They communicate with this medium.

The closest thing to Internet rights is the inherent right to freedom of expression and assembly as granted by the Constitution.  Yet there are no specific frameworks to ensure that Filipinos are granted the same freedom in cyberspace.

As Secretary Clinton said,

“the freedom to connect – the idea that governments should not prevent people from connecting to the Internet, to websites, or to each other. The freedom to connect is like the freedom of assembly, only in cyberspace. It allows individuals to get online, come together, and hopefully cooperate. Once you’re on the Internet, you don’t need to be a tycoon or a rock star to have a huge impact on society.“

You’ve seen how the Iran election played out.  Is it really far-fetched idea that in the future, some Philippine president would usurp and bend the law to his or her will?

Please make no mistake, the Internet here encompasses the right of people to place a call, or send a text message, to communicate.

Would it be possible then to grant Filipinos the freedom to connect -- that the government should not prevent people from connecting to the Internet?

That said, would it be possible too to grant each Filipino the right to network neutrality -- the principle that advocates no restrictions by Internet service providers and governments on content, sites, platforms -- on the kind of equipment that may be attached to the Internet service as well as no restrictions on the modes of communication allowed?  Likewise, guaranteed protection of their privacy as well as a reliable and fast connection -- which of course is determined by their subscription.

Most Filipinos don’t understand this.  They’ve yet to see why it should be.  Most people are hard pressed to use a computer, much less comprehend why they have the right to use one and why they have a right to access the wealth of information on the Internet.  It would be a shame if we cannot protect their rights before they realize what they are missing.  They’ve yet to fully appreciate the singular beauty of perhaps the greatest invention in human history that has had a profound impact on everything we do.

That’s the civil liberties part.

What of the current state of Internet in the Philippines?

State of Internet in the Philippines 2010

The current State of Internet in the Philippines is dismal, disappointing, slow and unreliable for most people and absent for many.

E-commerce is virtually nonexistent.

In the Philippines, Yahoo-Nielsen recently pointed out that 69 percent of those who have used the Internet connect through an Internet café.  This pretty much correlates with findings in Latin America and other poorer regions where people access the Internet via public places.

In the same report,  every analyst and pundit is predicting that mobile Internet will be the next big thing. In the Philippines its usage grew from 0 to 5 percent between the years 2009 and 2010.  Yahoo-Nielsen revealed this was due to low tariffs offered by the telecom companies.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Technology Report ranks the Philippines' network readiness at 85 out of 133 countries.  Thailand (47), Vietnam (54) and Indonesia (65) all rank higher than the Philippines.

That’s how it is.  Is the Internet just a means to communicate?  Can this be used as leverage to boost the Philippines’ economy?

The economic benefits

Mr. President, the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development published “Broadband and the Economy.”  One of the paper's salient points is that broadband is important for enabling technology.  Its impact is more on productivity gains than the production of ICTs.  It cited Oracle Corporation, where employees file expense reports online, saving the company US$15 (From US$25 to US$10) because of it.

On the other hand, Lehr, Osorio, Gillertt from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology together with Marvin Sirbu of Carnegie Mellon University wrote about “Measuring Broadband’s Economic Impact.  They concluded that between 1998 and 2002, communities where mass-market broadband was available by December 1999 had more growth in employment and businesses overall as well as more businesses in ICT intensive sectors.

The Global Information and Communications Technologies Department of the World Bank in January 2010 published, “Building broadband: Strategies and policies for the developing world.”  In that paper they wrote “a 10 percent increase in broadband household penetration delivers a boost to a country’s GDP that ranges from 0.1 percent to 1.4 percent.”  The paper also highlighted that 10 percent higher broadband penetration in a specific year resulted to 1.5 percent greater labor productivity growth in successive years.  Likewise countries in the top tier of broadband penetration “exhibited 2 percent higher GDP growth than countries in the bottom.”

The International Telecommunications Union’s World Telecommunication/ICT Development Report 2010 revealed that 90 percent of the world’s population has cellular phone coverage.  It believes the near-ubiquity of cellular signals means getting Internet in rural areas is in the realm of possibility.  It concluded that countries also need to take advantage of wireless technologies to deliver high-speed Internet access and launch 3G networks where they are not yet available.  The report continued, “To this end, policy makers also need to monitor the percentage of population within reach of a 3G mobile cellular signal.”

Much to be done

I know there is much to be done and a great many things to accomplish.  I cannot guess at the broader strategy in play that your government wishes to execute.   I cannot presume to know or understand what’s at play, what’s not and what cannot be done.  Likewise, I am not a stockholder of Globe, PLDT, Digital or any other telecom company in the Philippines.  Ergo, I am not privileged to know their technology infrastructure nor their bottom line and neither do I have a right to tell their board what strategy to impose.

Based on the studies I’ve read and shared with you, it is my humble opinion that a mobile broadband strategy working in tandem with the private sector is a key economic driver.  Though I will not presume to know the broader strategy your government will employ, I would presume to ask if you could put some of the government's resources to help determine for yourself if these studies are useful for the nation, and if that be the case how best to execute.

Most Filipinos remain unaware of the importance of Internet freedom.

Beyond the economic, I believe with the same certainty that you are the right man for the job of President of the Philippines that the freedom to connect, the right to network neutrality are important matters that the government must ensure, to guarantee a level playing field, as well as to enrich culturally and intellectually Filipinos everywhere, and perhaps one day both in cyberspace and real life we can share everything that makes us proudly Filipino.

With respect,

Cocoy Dayao

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Cocoy is a Technology and New Media enthusiast and Social Observer who enjoys comic books and a good cup of coffee. He is Chief Blogger of The Pro Pinoy Project and hangs out on twitter as @cocoy. He has other hats like Technology Editor of the Philippine Online Chronicles' "Lintech!"  Cocoy also regularly contributes political commentary at BlogWatch.ph. His personal blog is Cocoy Chronicles

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