QUESTION: Sir John, do you support Government Broadband Project?
ANSWER: The production and distribution of broadband and internet services are better left to the private sector. The private sector was able to internetize the residentials and commercials without much ado, bundled pa ang telephone and internet sa P700 lang, and this should serve as benchmark investment cost for Government if ever it will venture in operatingits own broadband. Nevertheless, in my opinion, it is a bad idea if the Govt invests in a one shot long-term telecommunication infrastructure because technology in that particular field is fast changing. If government enters into that, dapat committed din siya sa long-term maintenance and upgrade nyan.
Ang masakit dyan sa Broadband Project ng Gobyerno, baka yung mga pinag-lumaan and surplus na telecommunication system ng ibang bansa, eh yun ang itatambak sa atin. Kung hindi kukurakutin, magagamit natin, pero hindi tatagal ng 3 years kasi magiging obsolete agad yan compared sa system na binibenta ng private sector.
President Fidel V. Ramos was the President during my entire college in the University of the Philippines and he influenced much of my intellectual formation. In terms of technology, I learned from Ramos that we must always keep up with the trends of globalization so we can compete. However, the most relevant legacies that I learned from him is the principle that government should focus on providing public goods and services, and leave all else to the private sector. Therefore, I can say that I am not so comfortable with the implementation Philippine Government Broadband Project.
