Press Release
October 10, 2019

STATEMENT OF SENATOR WIN GATCHALIAN ON THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM'S 2019 GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS REPORT

In its 2019 Global Competitiveness Report, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said concerns on ICT adoption and macroeconomic stability are the major factors that dragged down the Philippines' global ranking by eight notches to 64th out of 141 economies. The issues raised by the WEF could have easily been remedied by instituting reforms that are crucial to improve the national ICT ecosystem.

During the 17th Congress, I championed measures that I believe will foster an inclusive, efficient, and competitive business environment in the Philippines, including amendments to the 80-year-old Public Service Act. This would clarify the definition of public utilities as only those public services which are natural monopolies by nature. Another measure I filed would allow the entry of additional players in the data infrastructure without requiring a congressional franchise by shifting to an Open Access Model in data transmission instead of a single, vertically integrated network.

Rest assured we will be refiling these bills this Congress and would work towards their passage. Our goal is to favor consumers by offering them better options on the market. After all, empowered consumers are the backbone of a vibrant, resilient, and inclusive national economy.

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