Bam on the Telcos, Leni and Anti-Discrimination

On the Slow and Expensive Internet

Sen. Bam: Kailangan kung ano ang makukuha ng consumer, malinaw na malinaw doon sa advertisement.

In fairness to the NTC, iyong inilabas nilang circular, will really change a lot of advertisements. Kung hindi nagma-match doon sa advertisement ang average speed na na-eexperience ng consumers natin, and verified by the NTC with their own measurement, puwedeng cause for consumer complaint.

Q: Pero iyong sinasabing mismong fair usage, is that fair to consumers?

Sen. Bam: That's actually a contract between the telcos and us. Nasa atin iyon to decide and again babalik tayo sa issue ng competition. If we have limited choices, kakaunti lang talaga ang puwedeng pagpilian natin.

That's why lumabas din kahapon, na to solve iyong Internet issues. Dalawa iyong napag-usapan in length kahapon. Una, there's a need to really increase competition in the market, dumami ang players natin.

Pangalawa, panahon na ba para mag-invest ang gobyerno para ma-reach ang hard to reach areas at maabot ang Internet sa third, fourth, fifth and sixth class municipalities.

Q: Wala talaga lang kasi tayong choice and we have just to say yes?

Sen. Bam: Ano ang gagawin pa natin? That's the issue of competition.

Q: But in essence, is that an ideal situation?

Sen. Bam: No it's not. Absolutely not an ideal situation. A country like Singapore has more than five providers. Tayo dito, we have a very few providers. Ang sabi nga natin noon when we passed the Philippine Competition Act, kung may kumpetisyon sa merkado, marami pinagpipilian, mababa ang presyo, maganda iyong kalidad. This is an industry na we're hoping na dumami ang kompetisyon.

Q: How about iyong capping of speed when you reached a certain volume?

Sen. Bam: It depends kung ano iyong ina-advertise mo at kung ano ang binabayaran ng consumer. Coming from the circular yesterday, ang nakalagay doon, kailangang mas maging malinaw at mas maging totoo ang advertisements ng ating telco partners.

They will be changing their advertisements to match the NTC circular. Ang consumers, kung hindi nila makuha doon sa advertisements, puwede silang mag-file sa DTI ng consumer complaints.

Q: Ideally sir, kahit pa totoo ang sinasabi sa advertisements, should speeds be limited?

Sen. Bam: Depends on your contract. If you look at the rest of the world, very clear, malinaw iyong nakalagay doon, alam ng tao ang nakukuha nila. Ang hindi maganda, iba ang nakalagay sa advertisements, iba ang nakukuha mo.

Ang circular ng NTC, basically says, kailangan ang consumer experience at advertisements, nagma-match siya. Kung ano ang laman noon, that's of course, up to what telcos are offering us

If you ask me, limited ba ng offering na iyon? Of course it's limited because kulang ng kumpetisyon sa merkado. The actual solution is really to find more players in the market, mas dumami ang choices natin.

On Leni Robredo

Q: Iyong kay Leni Robredo lang. Kasi sabi ninyo, you're one of those who think she'll be a good VP. Ano pa ang puwede niyong gawin to convince her?

Sen. Bam: Ako, hindi lang iyan ang trabaho ko. I think lahat ng sumusuporta sa kanya, trabaho nating lahat.

Noong isang araw, nagkaroon ng eulogy si Tito Butz, sabi nga nila, may mga tao napakalakas ng pagmamahal, kailangan i-share sila sa buong mundo o sa buong Pilipinas.

I think si Congresswoman Leni, may capacity siya to love and to serve, so I'm hoping she can also serve the rest of the country, hindi lang para sa Naga at sa kanyang pamilya.

So far, sa social media, napakalakas ng reaction ng mga tao to really get her to run for a national position. Sana ipagpatuloy iyon. Nakikinig naman siya sa taumbayan.

On Anti-Discrimination Bill

Q: Sir ano po ang masasabi niyo na ang passage ng anti-discrimination bill ay mas mahirap pa raw sa pagpasa ng RH bill?

Sen. Bam: I hope not. I'm the main author of that bill and hindi naman siguro ganoon kahirap iyon. The RH bill really took a lot of time and naging contentious ng mga bagay-bagay. I'm hoping it won't be that difficult.

It's a good bill. I guess groups who are afraid of what the bill might do. But if you read it, it's basically saying that we should treat each other fairly, maging mabuti tayo sa isa't isa, whether our religion is different, whether our race is different, whether our sexual orientation is different.

Dapat patas-patas ang pagtrato sa ating lahat bilang mga Pilipino.