De Claro Takes Over DICT as NTC Flags 29 Weak Mobile Sites

Robert Joseph Montes de Claro took his oath as secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology at Malacañan Palace on October 13, ending weeks of speculation about who would run the agency that sets the country's internet, telecom and e-government policy.15 He replaced Henry Aguda, who resigned amid investigations into an alleged "ghost internet" scheme — a probe into whether the government paid for internet connections that were never actually installed or delivered.2018 The appointment drew the widest single audience of anything in this window: a DZMM TeleRadyo radio item on the change recorded 11,125 views, more than any other post carrying the story.13

The same week, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the government body that regulates phone and internet companies, released the results of joint quality-of-service tests run with Smart, Globe and DITO across Quezon City, San Juan, Pasig, Taguig and Mandaluyong. Of 142 test campaigns, 113 recorded download speeds above the prescribed 50 megabits per second (Mbps) benchmark, while 29 fell short.4859 The regulator had begun imposing ₱100,000 daily fines on the three operators in September over what it called poor mobile broadband signals, and the new results keep that pressure in place.67

Away from the capital, the DICT's regional office in Davao City ran a two-day Trabahong Digital Job Fair on October 13 and 14, offering more than 3,000 jobs from 23 local and international companies across IT-BPM, retail, finance, logistics and real estate.2 PTV Davao reported that some applicants were hired on the spot.3 The department followed it with a webinar on generative artificial intelligence and reskilling on October 15, and a Zamboanga Sibugay session for 35 students on startup development, online child-abuse awareness and the eGovPH government services app.54

Key themes

1. A new DICT secretary inherits an agency under investigation. De Claro, previously president and chief executive of the Social Security System, took over on October 13 as the department faced procurement controversies, internal disputes and a probe into the alleged "ghost internet" scheme.2520
2. The DICT's own monitoring shows more than 1,600 Free Wi-Fi sites offline. Malaya reported that the department targets 20,000 Free Wi-Fi sites by the end of 2026, but its monitoring system shows over 1,600 locations not working.24
3. The NTC's Metro Manila tests found 29 of 142 test points below standard. DITO recorded the fastest single download speed at 422 Mbps on Bonny Serrano Avenue in Quezon City, ahead of Globe at 381 Mbps and Smart at 377 Mbps, but the regulator flagged the failing points for immediate action.4859
4. Smart recorded zero dropped calls in the same round of tests. The NTC's drive tests showed Smart with an average call drop ratio of zero percent against a prescribed threshold of below 2 percent, and a peak mobile broadband speed of 377 Mbps along San Francisco Street in Mandaluyong.46
5. Globe led the SMS reliability measure. Globe posted the highest average SMS success ratio among the three operators at 99.41 percent, the only provider above the NTC's 99 percent standard, with a 0.74 percent average call drop ratio.64
6. DICT ran a 3,000-job digital fair in Davao City. The two-day event drew 23 local and international employers, and the agency has said it wants to institutionalize the fair and add more participating companies.2
7. A former DICT undersecretary pressed the new secretary on election technology. Jeffrey Ian Dy urged de Claro to convene the Commission on Elections Advisory Council, which the DICT secretary chairs, well before the coming presidential election.27
8. PLDT's visible activity in this window was sports sponsorship, not service news. The PLDT High Speed Hitters lost to the Nxled Chameleons in a Premier Volleyball League match on October 13, and the livestream of that match drew 7,267 views and 34 likes — the only PLDT item here with measurable audience response.97

How the narratives stack

Dominant. The leadership change at the DICT is the day's biggest story by consequence and by audience. De Claro's oath-taking at Malacañan Palace on October 13 was carried by ABS-CBN's TV Patrol, GMA's 24 Oras and Unang Balita, ANC's The World Tonight, DZMM TeleRadyo, DZRH, Bilyonaryo and state broadcaster RTVM, among others.301513 The DZMM item alone drew 11,125 views, the largest response of any post in this set.13 The story matters beyond personnel because the DICT sets connectivity, cybersecurity and e-government policy — the rules that phone and internet companies plan against. Within the items captured here, the appointment also generated the most distinct follow-up angles: Bilyonaryo asked why cabinet reshuffles are so frequent in the Marcos Jr. administration, Rappler framed the job as a difficult inheritance, and Malaya tied the handover directly to the offline Wi-Fi sites.312524

Counter-narrative. The NTC's test results complicate the operators' own messaging. Smart's press statement highlighted a zero-percent call drop ratio and a 377 Mbps peak speed, and Globe's highlighted a 99.41 percent SMS success ratio and a 0.74 percent call drop ratio.4664 Both are accurate readings of specific measures. But the regulator's own summary is that 29 of 142 test campaigns failed to meet the mobile broadband standard, and the NTC said there is a need to immediately address the identified deficiencies.5948 DITO, which recorded the single fastest speed at 422 Mbps, was also flagged for having no signal outside the high-traffic area of Farmers Market in Cubao.82 The two readings are not contradictory — a network can post a fast peak in one spot and still fail in others — but the coverage that led with operator press releases told a more flattering story than the regulator's aggregate finding.

Emerging. The DICT's digital-employment programming is building into a recurring government thread rather than a one-off event. The Davao fair offered more than 3,000 jobs from 23 companies, and the agency has said it wants to institutionalize the fair and add more participating companies.2 A separate regional session in Zamboanga Sibugay reached 35 students, and a national webinar on generative AI and reskilling ran on October 15.45 The scale is modest so far, but the pattern — job fairs, reskilling webinars, regional training — is the kind of programming that becomes a standing government program if it survives a change of secretary.

Under-covered. The Free Wi-Fi shortfall got the least attention relative to its size. Malaya's "GHOSTED" report is the only item in this set that puts a number on the gap: more than 1,600 offline locations against a 20,000-site target for the end of 2026.24 That is roughly 8 percent of the target not working, and it sits underneath the "ghost internet" investigation that helped end the previous secretary's tenure.20 Most of the broadcast coverage treated the handover as a personnel story and did not carry the figure.30

Platform insights

• YouTube. The platform carried both the largest single audience and the widest spread of items. The DZMM TeleRadyo item on the appointment drew 11,125 views, the highest of any post here.13 The PLDT volleyball livestream drew 7,267 views and 34 likes, far ahead of the few hundred views recorded by general news bulletins in the same set.7 RTVM's full oath-taking record and the various newscast clips make YouTube the main archive for the appointment's primary footage.15
• Facebook. Government and institutional pages did the heavy lifting. The DICT regional office in Davao City posted the job fair details, the DICT Zamboanga Sibugay page posted the student session, the DICT IIDB page promoted the generative AI webinar, and the DICT CAR page welcomed the new secretary.24540 The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines congratulated de Claro on the same platform, and TopNewsAsia linked the appointment to the ghost internet probe there.2920 Facebook is where the department's own messaging and the first organized reactions to the appointment both landed.
• X. The platform's contribution in this set is thin but pointed: Bilyonaryo's account carried former undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy's call for the new secretary to convene the COMELEC Advisory Council.28 It is a single post, but it is the clearest statement of an external demand on de Claro's early agenda.
• Reddit. No meaningful activity from this platform appears in the material reviewed.

Key voices and communities

National newsrooms. ABS-CBN, GMA, ANC, DZMM, DZRH and Bilyonaryo treated the appointment as a straight leadership change with a heavy personnel angle, emphasizing who de Claro is and the timing of the handover.30 GMA noted in one segment that the role now covers digital connectivity, e-governance and cybersecurity, which is the closest any of them came to explaining what the job actually controls.30 These outlets carried the story to the widest general audience.

Business and technology press. Rappler and Malaya Business Insight framed the same appointment as a difficult inheritance. Rappler described de Claro as taking over a department "beset by procurement controversies, internal disputes, and questions over its" programs, and Malaya's "GHOSTED" report supplied the only hard figure attached to the agency's problems.2524 This is where the underlying trouble is named most directly.

Malacañang and the Presidential Communications Office. The government's own channel presented the transition in formal, procedural terms. RTVM published the full oath-taking record and the most detailed account of de Claro's background anywhere in the material, tracing his career from Nestlé Philippines in 1993 through People4u Inc., JMango Philippines Inc., GlobalOne Solutions, Cloud Sherpas and FutureNow Business Services Inc., and his entry into the Social Security Commission in January 2023 as the employers' representative.15 Other outlets' background details trace back to this record.

Labour and election-watch commentators. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, a national labour federation, congratulated de Claro and tied its hopes to digital transformation, public services and technology that benefits Filipino workers.29 Former DICT undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy pressed for speed, warning on Bilyonaryo's program and on X that the new secretary's settling-in period would be short given the coming presidential election.2728 These are the first organized demands placed on the new secretary, and they set the terms on which his early performance may be judged.

Narrative streams

De Claro takes over a department whose own monitoring shows 1,600 Wi-Fi sites offline

De Claro, a computer science graduate of De La Salle University, spent most of his career in the private sector before joining the Social Security System in January 2023 as the employers' representative on the Social Security Commission. He became the pension fund's officer-in-charge in October 2024 and its president and chief executive that December.1520 He named three priorities in his first days: better Wi-Fi connectivity, curbing nihilistic violent extremism, and an artificial intelligence governance framework. He also said he would review the profiles of DICT undersecretaries to assess their accomplishments in past months, met department officials at the DICT headquarters in Quezon City on October 14, and promised to speed up digital services.212223

The connectivity priority runs straight into a number the department already knows. The DICT aims for 20,000 Free Wi-Fi sites by the end of 2026, but its own monitoring system shows more than 1,600 locations offline.24 Free Wi-Fi sites are public internet access points the government installs in schools, plazas, transport terminals and government offices, and they are one of the most visible ways the department's work reaches ordinary Filipinos. A site that is offline is a service that was paid for and is not being delivered. The undersecretary review and the procurement scrutiny that Rappler describes are the practical near-term exposure for companies with pending or planned DICT-linked programs, because a leadership review can slow approvals and reopen contracts.25

For telecom operators, the change of secretary matters less for what de Claro has said than for what he has not yet decided. The DICT and the NTC are the two agencies that set the rules operators plan against, and a new secretary reviewing his own undersecretaries is a period when pending decisions can stall. The read for the sector: operators and their suppliers should expect a slower approvals environment in the near term and should not assume that programs approved under Aguda will proceed unchanged.

The NTC's Metro Manila tests found 29 failing points while operators posted record peak speeds

The NTC ran joint quality-of-service tests in Quezon City, San Juan, Pasig, Taguig and Mandaluyong using a Rohde & Schwarz QualiPoc tool — a handheld, smartphone-based system for measuring mobile network performance — installed on commercial 5G-capable Android phones. Representatives of the three operators were present to observe the methodology, which the NTC adopted after issuing show-cause orders. Show-cause orders are formal demands that a company explain why it should not be penalized; the NTC had already begun imposing ₱100,000 daily fines on Smart, DITO and Globe in September over poor mobile broadband signals.4867

The results cut both ways. Of 142 test campaigns, 113 recorded download speeds above 50 Mbps, or 79.58 percent of tests.67 DITO registered the highest single speed at 422 Mbps on Bonny Serrano Avenue in Quezon City, followed by Globe at 381 Mbps and Smart at 377 Mbps along San Francisco Street near Sea Oil, Plainview in Mandaluyong.48 But NTC deputy commissioner Andres Castelar said the regulator "expresses serious concern about 29 test points that yielded unsatisfactory results" and that "there is a need to immediately address the identified deficiencies."48 DITO, despite the fastest peak, was flagged for having no signal outside the high-traffic area of Farmers Market in Cubao.82

Each operator's own statement picked the measure it led on. Smart highlighted a zero-percent average call drop ratio against a prescribed threshold of below 2 percent, and a peak mobile broadband speed of 377 Mbps.46 Globe highlighted the highest average SMS success ratio among the three at 99.41 percent — the only provider above the NTC's 99 percent standard — and a 0.74 percent average call drop ratio.64 Both statements are accurate about the measures they cite. Neither addresses the 29 failing points, which is the finding that carries regulatory risk: the NTC said the results put the operators at risk of additional show-cause orders as it steps up monitoring across Metro Manila.59

The read for the sector: the operators' marketing claims about peak speeds are now separable from their regulatory standing, and the gap between the two is where the next round of fines or orders will come from. A network that posts 422 Mbps in one spot and no signal in another is exactly the pattern the NTC's methodology is built to catch, and the operators' communications teams will have to answer for the failing points rather than the peaks.

DICT's digital jobs push reaches Davao, Zamboanga Sibugay and a national AI webinar

The Trabahong Digital Job Fair in Davao City ran for two days, October 13 and 14, and offered more than 3,000 jobs from 23 local and international companies in IT-BPM, retail, finance, logistics and real estate.2 IT-BPM stands for information technology and business process management — the call centers, shared services and outsourcing firms that are one of the country's largest private employers. PTV Davao reported that many jobseekers were hired on the spot, and the Philippine Information Agency covered the event under National ICT Month.312 The agency has said it wants to institutionalize the fair and add more participating companies.2

The programming continued through the week. On October 14, a DICT office in Zamboanga Sibugay held a session for 35 students at Western Mindanao State University covering startup development, online child abuse awareness and the eGovPH app — the government's consolidated mobile portal for public services.4 On October 15, the DICT promoted a webinar titled "Behind the Screen: Generative AI, Reskilling, and Future Digital Jobs," with speakers Darren Tang of AIM Now and Marc Gulle of Fed Center, aimed at students, jobseekers and freelancers.5

The read for the sector: the DICT is positioning itself as a labor-market agency as much as a regulator, and that positioning is the part of its work least likely to be disrupted by the leadership change, because it is delivered through regional offices and does not depend on procurement decisions in Manila. Employers in IT-BPM and outsourcing should watch whether the Davao fair becomes an annual fixture, since a recurring government-run hiring channel changes how those firms recruit in Mindanao.

PLDT's visible activity was volleyball sponsorship, not service news

The PLDT High Speed Hitters lost to the Nxled Chameleons in a Premier Volleyball League match on October 13, with Brooke Van Sickle returning from a shoulder injury to lead a sweep.9 A live broadcast of the Galeries Towers versus Farm Fresh and Nxled versus PLDT matches ran the same day, and a News5 sports roundup on October 14 listed the result among its headlines.78 The livestream drew 7,267 views and 34 likes, the only PLDT item in this set with measurable audience response; the news bulletins drew a few hundred views each.7

The rest of the material carrying PLDT keywords is corporate and self-published: PLDT Home plan pages, Bills Online, PLDT Global, and a Wikipedia overview describing PLDT as the country's largest telecommunications company by assets and revenues.1011 None of it reports a current customer, regulatory or competitive development. A separate sports feature profiled PLDT players Kath Arado and Savi Davison ahead of the new PVL season, noting the team's bronze finish in the 2026 Invitational Conference.50

The read for the sector: for anyone tracking the PLDT brand, this window contains sponsorship visibility and nothing else. The volleyball coverage should not be folded into a service or regulatory narrative, because the match result and the view counts are the whole of what it supports. The absence of service news is itself the finding — the operator's public profile in this window was built entirely on sports marketing while the regulator was releasing test results that flagged its network in 29 locations.

The NTC's findings landed alongside a separate set of consumer-facing telecom stories

Two items in this set touch the same regulatory space from different angles. A Remate column argued that SIM registration — the requirement that buyers register their identity when acquiring a SIM card, introduced to reduce scam text messages — has failed to stop scammers, recounting a case in which a victim lost more than half a million pesos after repeatedly giving out one-time passwords to fraudsters impersonating a bank.74 Separately, the Bureau of Customs said it has received more than 700 complaints about love scams since the start of the year, an average of up to 70 a month, with most involving foreigners who build romantic relationships before asking victims to send money for supposed shipping fees on gifts.90

On the network side, Smart said it expanded its 5G footprint across Bacolod City ahead of the MassKara Festival, which runs October 1 to 18 with major events from October 16 to 18, as a telco partner of the festival.79 Converge ICT Solutions won three distinctions at the 2026 HR Asia Best Companies to Work for in Asia Awards — Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2026, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Sustainable Workplace — at a ceremony held October 6 in Pasay City.68

The read for the sector: the consumer-protection side of telecom is where public frustration concentrates, and it is not moving in step with network performance. SIM registration was sold as an anti-scam measure, and a columnist writing in a mass-circulation tabloid is now calling it a failure. Operators that lead their messaging with network speed while scam complaints run at 70 a month are answering a question the public is not asking.

Conversation trajectory

Watch the undersecretary review over the next two to four weeks. De Claro said he would review the profiles of DICT undersecretaries to assess their accomplishments in past months.21 Personnel reviews at that level typically produce resignations, reassignments or new appointments within a month, and any of those would signal how much of the previous administration's program pipeline survives. The observable trigger is a DICT announcement of undersecretary changes; the absence of one by mid-November would suggest the review was largely symbolic.

Watch for additional show-cause orders against the three operators. The NTC said the latest results put Smart, Globe and DITO at risk of additional show-cause orders as it steps up monitoring.59 The agency has already imposed ₱100,000 daily fines once, so the mechanism is established and the next step is a matter of when, not whether. A new round of orders would be the clearest signal that the 29 failing points are being treated as a compliance failure rather than a testing artifact.

Watch the COMELEC Advisory Council for a convening announcement before the end of the year. Former undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy urged de Claro to convene the council, which the DICT secretary chairs, warning that time to settle into the role will be short given the coming presidential election.27 The council coordinates technology matters for the Commission on Elections, the body that runs national elections. A convening within the next four to six weeks would indicate the new secretary is prioritizing election preparedness; no convening by early 2027 would leave the coordination late relative to the electoral calendar.

Watch whether the Davao job fair becomes a recurring fixture. The DICT has said it wants to institutionalize the fair and add more participating companies.2 A second edition announced within the next quarter, or a similar fair in another region, would confirm the agency is building a standing program. A single event with no follow-up would suggest it was tied to National ICT Month rather than to a longer plan.

Trigger events to watch. A DICT statement on the ghost internet investigation's status; the NTC's next quarterly test results; any announcement on the 20,000-site Free Wi-Fi target as the end of 2026 approaches; and the Senate's review of the proposed 2027 national budget, which includes a P206-billion realignment that cut P40.4 billion from transportation allocations including two major railway projects.66

Response guidance

For telecom operators, separate your network messaging from your regulatory posture. The NTC's aggregate finding — 29 of 142 test campaigns below standard — is the number regulators and reporters will use, and it is not answered by a peak-speed figure from a different location. Prepare a plain-language account of where service falls short and what is being done about it, and expect the failing points to be named individually in follow-up coverage.

For operators with pending DICT-linked programs, plan for a slower approvals environment. A new secretary reviewing his undersecretaries is a period when pending decisions can stall and contracts can be reopened. Brief internal teams on the possibility of delays and avoid public commitments to timelines that depend on DICT sign-off until the review concludes.

For consumer-facing telecom brands, address scam complaints directly. SIM registration was introduced to reduce scam messages, and a mass-circulation columnist is now calling it a failure while the Bureau of Customs reports 70 love-scam complaints a month.7490 Messaging that leads with network speed while these complaints accumulate reads as off-topic to the audiences most affected. Consider publishing clear, specific guidance on how customers can verify bank messages and where to report fraud.

For employers in IT-BPM and outsourcing, treat the DICT's regional job fairs as a recruiting channel worth monitoring. The Davao fair offered more than 3,000 positions from 23 companies and produced on-the-spot hires.23 If the agency institutionalizes the format, it becomes a low-cost way to reach candidates in Mindanao, and firms that engage early will have an advantage in shaping which roles are included.

For anyone communicating about the DICT transition, avoid treating the appointment as a clean slate. The new secretary inherits an agency whose own monitoring shows more than 1,600 Free Wi-Fi sites offline and which is the subject of a ghost internet investigation.2420 Statements that present the change as a fresh start without acknowledging the inherited problems will be measured against those figures within days.

For sports and lifestyle marketers working with telecom brands, keep sponsorship visibility separate from service claims. PLDT's volleyball coverage drew 7,267 views on a single livestream, which is real audience attention, but it carries no information about network quality.7 Mixing the two in a single campaign invites the comparison that the operator would rather avoid while the NTC's test results are in circulation.

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