COA flags DICT over 'low implementation' of free Wi-Fi program

MANILA — The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the low implementation of the free Wi-Fi program of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) with either non-operative or slow internet connectivity of certain sites.

In the annual audit report on the DICT, state auditors said that Republic Act No. 10929 or the Free Internet Access for All Act provides that the government should ensure the availability and accessibility to a reliable and secure internet access suitable to the needs and aspirations of the nation.

The report noted that for 2021, the budget obligated for the program amounted to P10.339 billion, with only 2,890 operational sites out of the targeted 15,169 by the end of the year.

“The department lacks the sustainability measures to ensure continuous operability of the already installed sites,” the auditors noted in the report.

The COA also stated that from 2016 to 2018, the low rates of accomplishment were attributed to the delays in procurement, difficulty in securing authorizations and permits as well as network architecture of the project.

The auditors said that the first three years of implementation should have taught the DICT the necessary measures to be undertaken to meet the set targets for the succeeding years. It noted that for 2019 to 2020, the accomplishment was very low.

The DICT management agreed to the recommendations of the auditors to accelerate the operationalization of free Wi-Fi sites and prevent the decreasing number of inoperable sites.

It also told the audit team that all units of the DICT were required to provide its plans and targets for each year.

“A number of strategies to attain a bigger number of Free Wi-Fi sites is in place, and procurement of services has already commenced,” the DICT management told the audit team.

A copy of the report was received by former acting Secretary Emmanuel Rey Caintic last June 29.

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