MANILA, Philippines — The government has allotted an additional PP3.681 billion to the Department of Information and Communications Technology to continue the implementation of the “Free Public Internet Access Program in the country, the Budget department said.
The fund is estimated to sustain a total of 13,462 access point sites within the country.
“As mandated by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., we will ensure that every citizen, saan mang sulok ng Pilipinas, makikinabang sa ating (wherever they are in the Philippines, will benefit from our) digital transformation initiatives,” Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said.
As part of the FPIAP, efforts are focused on developing and maintaining ICT infrastructure, including towers, data centers, and internet connections. The initiative aims to ensure reliable internet access in public spaces such as schools, libraries, parks, and transportation hubs, enhancing connectivity for Filipinos, according to Pangandaman.
In his third State of the Nation Address, President Marcos said that 77 percent, or 20.6 million Filipino households, were connected to the internet as of 2022, describing this figure as “very much too low.”
With the free Wi-Fi program, the chief executive said that it has served 10 million unique user devices in over 13,000 areas in the country.
Pangandaman has urged the DICT to implement and expedite the program now that the fund has already been released to the bureau.
“With the budget released, we are hopeful that the DICT can proceed swiftly with the fund disbursement and expedite the program’s implementation,” she said.
