Melvin Calimag

Uber said its Real-Time ID Check initiative will be able to reduce fraud and help drivers protect their accounts from being compromised.

After hurdling the Senate with a final vote of 18-0-0, the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act is seen clearing the House of Representatives in May.

The Senate has approved on third and final reading a bill which sought to renew for another 25 years the franchise of Smart Communications.

NPC deputy commissioner Dondi Mapa said organizations that employ 250 people or handle more than 1,000 customers in their database should also register their compliance with the NPC.

Work on the 2018 national budget has begun among agencies, with all requests bundled together in one proposed spending bill that Pres. Rodrigo Duterte will send to Congress by July.

The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority said that there are no actual bets or gaming transactions that enter the Philippines through its gaming locators.

In previous committee hearings, Sen. Paolo Benigno ?Bam? Aquino said it was determined by various stakeholders that more players are needed to improve Internet service while keeping prices reasonable.

The move is meant to address the persistent complaints from subscribers on slow Internet speed because of the lack of cellsites in the country. Compared to Vietnam which have 40,000 cell towers, the Philippines has on 7,000 cellsites.

The Philippines once again had the lowest average connection speed among surveyed Asia Pacific countries at 4.5 Mbps.

Tarlac representative Victor Yap introduced an amendment to the bill mandating the required minimum Internet speed of 10 Mbps, saying it will be useless if connection will be slow.