Greater regulatory powers sought over IT

A bill is now pending in the House of Representatives to shake up the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to cope with new developments in information technology. House Bill 6968 seeks to strengthen the NTC's existing powers, supposedly so it can regulate the new players that have cropped up in the industry in recent years. Wider jurisdiction and governance Under the bill, the NTC shall have jurisdiction over all persons and entities engaged in the operation and/or provision of information and communications telecommunications, broadcast, cable TV and other multi-media infrastructure and services. The agency shall also have the power to establish standards, specifications, measures, guidelines, rules and regulations that will govern the operations of service providers in the areas of information and communications technology, broadcast, cable TV and other multi-media service providers. The proposed bill requires the NTC to establish a rigorous training program, to include the setting up of training center, for its personnel to enhance the technical and regulatory competence of the Commission in the monitoring and enforcement of laws, rules regulations of the Commission and compliance thereof. Fiscal autonomy for NTC The bill also aims to grant fiscal autonomy to the NTC. This means that the agency's annual appropriation of the national budget may not be less than the amount appropriated for it the previous year. House Bill 6968 also provides that the appropriation shall be automatically and regularly released after approval. Bill's authors seek immediate approval "As a number of new players have emerged in the past years, it has become imperative for the government to provide a regulatory environment to develop a viable, adequate, efficient and universal information and communications sector using the best available and affordable technologies," said Rep. Luis Villafuerte (Camarines Sur), one of the authors of the bill. Because of this, he said that universal access to reliable and affordable services must be ensured and that the interest and welfare of both the industry players and the consuming public must be protected. The bill's co-author author, Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (Leyte), called for the immediate approval of the bill. "Governments throughout the world have devoted efforts towards the development and management of information systems to streamline and improve efficiency in the delivery of basic services to the people," he said. - TJD, GMANews.TV