Transcript of Senator Mar Roxas querying DoTC Sec. Leandro Mendoza and Asec. Lorenzo Formoso, at the joint hearing on NBN/ZTE deal (Excerpts)

MAR: There are only 1,500 or 1,600 [fifth and sixth class] municipalities, so ilan kaya dito ang wala pang access? Sinasabi ni Mr. Formoso ang siyang isa sa pinakamahalagang dahilan kung bakit gagastos tayo ng 15 billion para maabot nga itong mga ito.

Formoso: Ah sir, I will submit the numbers and the list, your honor.

MAR: It is only 1,500, is it 30, 50, 60, 100, 1000?

Formoso: I won't be speculating sir. I will give you a breakdown first�

MAR: Ang galing mo dumepensa nito, Attorney Formoso. Ngayong tinatanong ka ilan ho ba itong gusto mong silbihan nitong broadband na ito, nakalimutan mo, hindi mo alam? Ano ba ito? It is only 1,500, is it 5, 10, 100? It is so notable a number that the entire government machinery is here to defend this deal supposedly to reach the fourth, fifth and sixth municipalities that don't have telco access.

My question is very simple, there are more or less 1,500 municipalities, how many of them do not have telco access at the present whether by landline, cellphone, satellite or whatever?

Formoso: I don't have that number sir�

MAR: That is why the credibility of this project is very low. Because all of these supposed benefits and now you are going to be asked, how many actually benefit�

Formoso: We don't have the number.

MAR: Let me ask Secretary Mendoza� Is it very possible actually, the entire 1,500 more or less municipalities already are connected by telco one way or another? Siguro kakaunti lang talaga. There are 44,000 barangays, ilan kaya dito ang wala pang telco access? Is it possible ba talaga na maliit talaga ito? Or malaking-malaki?

Mendoza: Ang problema wala po kaming numbers dito�

MAR: Ngayon, dito Mr. Formoso, there are supposed to be 25,000 endpoints dito sa sistemang nakadisenyo, hindi ba?

Formoso: Yes sir.

MAR: 25,000 endpoints. Ano ang ibig sabihin nitong endpoint na ito.

Formoso: Basically sir, since wireless system po sir, Wi-max yung pay station po give and receive ng signal. Yung equipment system na yan, iyan ho yung access device. Yun ho yung tatanggap ng signal either uplink or downlink.

MAR: Ok so in effect sa madaling salita parang antenna ho ito? So there would possibly be more or less 25,000 polls or 25,000 antennas na kasama dito sa sistemang ito, na ikakalat?

Formoso: Yes sir.

***

MAR: Sang-ayon sa inyong programa, ang bawa't isa nitong 25,000 na ito, mga government offices, mga government employees, everything for government use ang makakapasok-labas nito sa portal, sa antenna-receiver-transmitter na ito. Ngayon, kung pribado kang tao, makakapasok ka ba diyan?

Formoso: Hinde sir.

MAR: Okey. So definitely, itong sistema na ito, masasabi natin, mag-uusap-usap within this 25,000 endpoints, lahat ng mga government agencies. Hindi ba yan yung disenyo ng sistemang ito. This is government to government, ibig sabihin kung nandito sa Senado, kung gustong kumausap sa fifth-class municipality, makakarating doon ang tawag.

Ang tanong ko ay ganito: bakit nating kailangan gumastos ng 330 million para diyan, samantala sa ngayon, naaabot naman yan e.

Formoso: The level of connectivity we have is not the level of connectivity that we want.

MAR: In other words, sinasabi mo na, sa 4-cylinder lang ito, gusto natin 12-cylinder. Mas gusto natin na mas mabilis, malakas�

Formoso: Mas gusto natin na mas functional, sir.

MAR: Ang point is, ang functionality nito ay wala doon sa pipeline, ang functionality yung kakayahan ng mga kawani ng gobyerno na gamitin ito, hindi ho ba? Kung hindi naka-digitize ang datos, kung hindi naka-digitize ang mga records, walang impormasyon na lalabas-pasok rito, hindi ho ba?

Formoso: That's true sir, but there's also the VoIP aspect to this�

MAR: Okay, so kung VoIP yan, halos, hindi niyo malalaman kung ilang municipalities na hindi inaabot ng signal e. So balik ako doon sa tanong na, 330 million, para lamang ang gobyerno merong exclusive, parang gusto nating gumawa ng bagong NLEX-SLEX na sasakay lang ang mga red plates ng gobyerno.

***

MAR: Ang propagan� hindi naman, ang selling point na sinasabi ninyo ay, ang kakulangan ay yung last mile. E samantala, yung laking gastusin nito na tawag for the broadband infrastructure will be for the main pipe. Bakit hindi na lang tayo gumastos for the last mile doon sa nangangailangan ng last mile connectivity?

Formoso: Since we will be providing you the annexes of the contract, you will be able to see the bill of quantities as well as the design�

MAR: Your contention the whole afternoon up to tonight, it's 8:48 in the evening, your contention is, oh, we need to reach the entire country and so on and so forth. I ask you how many have not been reached, you cannot answer. I ask you now, why don't we just spend for the last mile connectivity? Why must we spend for an entire broadband system, the pipeline itself is fine, and not just in addition to spending for the last mile in connecting to the existing. That's my question. I really think there is a decision going to be made here na, ito ba yung best use ng pera natin, ito ba yung best use ng borrowing capacity natin, diba?

Formoso: The backbone component of the project constitutes only about 15 to 18 percent of the cost�

MAR: Pinapaliit mo yung� Pera ng bayan ito, hindi naman pera mo ito e. Kung pera mo ito pwede mong gastusin yan, but 18% of 330 million, that's about 60 million dollars. So that's a lot of money. That's taxpayer money. Ito, Secretary Teves, kakokolekta lang natin ng EVAT, parang basta-basta niyo na lang ginagastos ito a.

***

MAR: Secretary Mendoza, itong Telof na ito, pagkaalala ko, this was already one of those agencies na slated for rationalization, di ho ba? There was, I recall, Cabinet meetings on the rationalization of government offices, na isa ito roon sa halos napag-desisyunan na parang kulang ang kontribusyon nito, and in fact yung mga tao dapat ilagay na sa ibang ahensya kase walang saysay, wala namang laking tulong itong ahensya na ito. Can you refresh our memory?

Mendoza: Meron hong ano, part of the rationalization po ito�

MAR: Excuse me sir, rationalization, ibig sabihin, isasara na, ire-relocate na ang mga tao sa ibang ahensya.

Pang-huli po, di ba masasabi natin na itong pinag-uusapan natin ngayon na NBN is just, parang reincarnation ito ng mga telepono sa mga barangay? Dahilan sa, naaalala ko ang mga telepono sa mga barangay, panahon ni presidente Erap� pinatay ito ng gabinete becase hindi useful sa pera ng bayan. Noong panahon ni Presidente GMA, first Cabinet, nandoon po tayo, may nag-promote dito, iba namang nilagay na mga features, pero ganoon din, a government-owned telephone company nationwide. Pinatay din po ito noong gabinete. Ngayon nandito tayo, parang nagtataka ako, bakit parang parating nabubuhay ito, na ang lakas ng staying power na kailangang magkaroon ng pansariling telephone system ang gobyerno na aabot sa lahat e samantala naman ay naaabot naman ito ng sa teknolohiya ngayon.

Mendoza: Tama po kayo, dahil� outmoded na nga yung technology [telephone]. But itong proyekto na ito [NBN] is pinag-aralan namin ito� I agree na marami pa ring priorities na isipin� As I said, may TRO ito, of course may imbestigasyon pa rin dito, magkakaroon pa ng imbestigasyon sa lower House, so I don't know what's going to happen.