Senator Loren Legarda has questioned a ₱150-million proposal from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for a Starlink subscription meant to provide free Internet access in remote areas.
However, the DICT clarified that the document received by Legarda’s office was “overpriced, unsigned, and unauthorized.”
During the Senate Committee on Finance hearing on the DICT’s proposed 2026 budget, Legarda revealed that her office had received a proposal from the department requesting ₱150 million for the purchase of new Starlink kits.
This came shortly after the expiration of the monthly Starlink subscription in Antique.
“Nag-expire lang po yung monthly subscription recently and when it expired, ang tanong ko lang po simple, ‘Paano na yung mga health centers, mga eskwelahan na recipient ng Starlink technology?’ Ang sagot ng office niyo at regional office na may proposal na binigay sa staff ko… Nagtaka ako bakit ang mahal, mahal?” Legarda said.
She added, “Sabi kailangan daw bumili o mag-GAA provision ulit ako ng ₱150 million para sa site. Sabi ko bakit ganun? Dapat monthly subscription lang, unless I’m ignorant in engineering and every year you have to buy new digital infrastructure. I was only asking for a renewal of the monthly subscription.”
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda clarified that the proposal forwarded to Legarda’s staff was not officially sanctioned by the department.
“That’s exactly why they are unauthorized to give you those proposals po. Because that’s not along the department orders that I released. One, that is overpriced and I cannot express strong enough, masyadong mahal ‘yan,” Aguda said.
Following Aguda’s explanation, Legarda said her office would seek a more detailed clarification on how the proposal ended up on her desk.
“May I request, with the permission of the chair, for a more detailed explanation for my office on how it happened and an acknowledgement that this is a government document even if it is unsigned, because it’s from the project directors of the free WiFi program,” Legarda stated.
“They are both project managers of the free public internet access program not of my province but of the central office,” she added.
Aguda assured the committee that the DICT’s internal audit is already investigating the matter.
“And we’ve already submitted findings, recommendations to COA. If Mr. Chair and your honor would like, we can give regular updates on the status of the ongoing investigations,” Aguda said.