The Konektadong Pinoy Catastrophe: How DICT Secretary Henry Aguda Is Endangering the Philippines’ Digital Future

There are policy mistakes—and then there are policy catastrophes.

The Konektadong Pinoy Act (KP Act), aggressively pushed by DICT Secretary Henry Aguda, falls squarely into the latter category.

In a world where data is power, DICT Secretary Aguda must not make the catastrophic mistake of giving that power away. (Photo: Department of Information and Communications Technology - DICT Facebook)

It is a blueprint for national vulnerability: a regulatory misfire so staggering that it threatens to damage the country’s digital backbone, distort the competitive landscape, and repel future investment.

The DICT Secretary may call it “reform” or “inclusion.” But let us call it what it truly is:

• A reckless giveaway of Philippine digital sovereignty.

  
  

• A capitulation to foreign operators without capital, accountability, or allegiance.

  
  

• A myopic vision that weakens—not strengthens—the nation’s digital foundations.

The KP Act’s central flaw is stunning in its simplicity: It allows foreign entities to operate telecom services in the Philippines without investing a single centavo in infrastructure.

Not one tower. Not one kilometer of fiber. Not one peso of capital expenditure.

Instead, these firms can simply piggyback on the billions invested by PLDT, Globe, and other legitimate infrastructure builders—tapping into their towers, their networks, their decades-long commitments—while contributing nothing to the country’s capacity.

This is not digital inclusion. This is digital parasitism.

While Filipino companies pour billions into building the nation’s telecom backbone—towers, fiber rolls, data centers—Secretary Aguda’s KP Act opens the door for foreign operators to free-ride on these assets.

They can reap profits without risk, extract value without investment, and operate without submitting to the scrutiny required of Filipino telcos. It is the perfect arrangement—for them. And a strategic disaster—for us.

Even more alarming is the complete erasure of congressional oversight.

Under the KP Act, foreign entities would escape the rigorous franchise vetting that

Filipino firms must undergo. No congressional review. No national security evaluation. No public scrutiny.

DICT has effectively bypassed constitutional safeguards with the stroke of a bureaucratic pen.

That is not reform. That is regulatory overreach of the highest order. And investors are not blind to this.

PLDT Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, a veteran of both local and global markets, has already expressed deep frustration. MVP has seen what happens in countries where regulators change the rules midstream:

Capital flees. Investment collapses. Infrastructure expansion slows.

Foreign investors do not fear competition—They fear unpredictability. They fear policy ambushes. They fear governments rewriting the rulebook after billions have been deployed.

By enabling zero-investment foreign entrants, the DICT is effectively telling every serious investor:

“You can spend decades building national infrastructure, but we can invite outsiders to use it for free.”

What message does that send to capital markets? To credit analysts? To sovereign risk evaluators?To global funds, weighing where to deploy long-term infrastructure capital?

It sends a message of danger—that Philippine policy is volatile, inconsistent, and blind to the fundamentals of investment.

Secretary Aguda has missed the essence of his mandate. DICT exists to:

• protect national digital sovereignty,

  
  

• safeguard critical infrastructure,

  
  

• guide the country through AI, cybersecurity, and cloud-era challenges, and

  
  

• fortify—not weaken—the telecom ecosystem.

  
  

But instead of strengthening our digital ramparts, the Secretary is tearing holes into them.

Instead of securing our national assets, he is making them vulnerable. Instead of amplifying Filipino firms’ competitiveness, he is undermining their viability.

Let us be absolutely clear:

A country that cannot control who operates inside its telecom ecosystem—and cannot demand capital commitments from those who do—is a country surrendering its strategic future.

Universal connectivity must not come at the price of national security. Competition must not come at the expense of capital discipline. Policy must not punish those who invest and reward those who contribute nothing.

If the KP Act is implemented in its current form, it will not “connect the Filipino.”It will disconnect the Philippines from its own digital sovereignty.

It will not “democratize telecom.”It will institutionalize parasitism. It will not “open the market.” It will hollow out the investment climate.

Policy must be firm, fair, and farsighted—not reckless, rushed, and ruinous. Secretary Aguda must reconsider. Congress must intervene. And the Filipino public must understand the gravity of what is at stake.

This is not just about towers and fiber. This is about the future of the country’s digital independence.

In a world where data is power, the worst mistake a nation can make is to give that power away.

--

ABOUT AUTHOR