MANILA, Philippines – BINIGYANG-DIIN ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang pangangailangan na itaas ang internet connectivity sa Pilipinas para mabitbit ang micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs) at nano-enterprises sa digital space.
Sa pagsasalita sa ginawang paglulunsad ng National Fiber Backbone (NFB) Phase 1 project ng Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), sinabi ng Pangulo na ang internet ay naging “backbone of trade, communications, transactions within and amongst communities.”
“One of the most important aspects that we have focused upon is an effort, and that’s why connectivity has been very important… the very big push to bring MSMEs into the digital space. So that we get to the point where the sari-sari store does not sell only to the village. The sari-sari store can sell anywhere and that brings us to the digital space,” ayon kay Pangulong Marcos.
“Even as to what we refer to the nano-enterprises… I’m talking about the shoe shine boy, the mekaniko … all of these nano-enterprises will also have access to that and that will give them more opportunities and that is such an important part of the economic transformation that we are hoping to achieve here in the Philippines,” dagdag na wika nito.
“Enormous breakthrough,” ang magiging katawagan sa pagkompleto ng NFB Phase 1 project ayon kay Pangulong Marcos sabay sabing ang “fast and reliable internet” ay mapahihintulutan ang mga Filipino na maabot ang kanilang “full potential.”
“The completion of the next five phases of the NFB by 2026 is seen to increase the penetration rate from the current 33% to 65%, reaching 70 out of the 115 million Filipinos nationwide,” dagdag na pahayag nito.
Sinabi ng Pangulo na inaasahan din nito na maibababa ang presyo ng internet ng hanggang sa $5 dollars per megabits per second (MPBS).
Idagdag pa rito, sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos na ang internet infrastructures gaya ng NFB ay makatutulong sa ekonomiya ng bansa at pasiglahin ang higit na pagkakaisa sa mga Filipino.
“Nationally, this is the infrastructure that will open employment opportunities, improve market efficiency, attract foreign investment, and stimulate livelihood across the different sectors of our economy and our society,” ani Pangulong Marcos.
“It will close the digital divide and bring to our people the transformative power of free and fast access to information. It will allow the state to guarantee the people’s enjoyment of the internet as a basic human right,” dagdag na wika nito.
Sa pagtatapos ng kanyang talumpati, nanawagan naman si Pangulong Marcos sa NFB stakeholders na manatiling committed na kompletuhin ang proyekto para “bring our businesses closer to consumers, our nation closer to the rest of the world and our people closer to their loved ones.”
Hinamon din ng Pangulo ang kanyang mga kapwa -public servants na palaganapin ang mga nasabing Inisyatiba sa lahat ng panig ng bansa lalo na sa mga nananatiling walang access sa internet upang masiguro na ang bawat Filipino ay ’empowered’ sa digital era.
Kasama sa NFB Phase 1 ang pag-activate sa 28 nodes spanning mula Laoag, Ilocos Norte patungong Roces, Quezon City.
Samantala, sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos na makapagbibigay ito ‘high speech internet access’ sa 14 na lalawigan sa Northern at Central Luzon, dalawang national government data centers, at apat na BCDA eco-zones.
“This will likewise empower 346 national and local government offices connected to the Government Network or GovNet,” ayon sa Chief Executive. Kris Jose
