Filipino students enrolled in school could soon get a 20% discount on mobile load, calls, texts, and Internet services under a bill filed by House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima.
House Bill No. 9859, called the Student Discount Para Sa Load Act, would make the discount permanent for students enrolled in recognized elementary, secondary, technical-vocational, or higher education schools in the Philippines. Students in postgraduate programs are not covered.
For Filipino families already juggling tuition, transportation, and school supplies, mobile data has become its own line item. Online classes during the pandemic normalized digital learning tools, and many schools, even those back to face-to-face setups, still rely on group chats, online portals, and cloud-based assignments that require a working Internet connection.
The discount would apply broadly across telecom services. The bill covers prepaid load for calls, texts, and data, postpaid mobile plans, and broadband or Internet connections used for school work. That scope would touch how students top up GCash-linked load wallets, pay postpaid bills through Globe or Smart, or subscribe to home broadband for online research and assignments.
De Lima tied the bill to what she described as a widening digital divide. “In the Philippines, the deepening digital divide exacerbates deep-rooted injustices in the education sector that leave students from underprivileged families and communities behind as they struggle to keep up with various learning expenses not covered by existing public education, scholarship, and learning subsidy programs,” she said in a news release.
She added that connectivity has become as basic to schooling as books or transportation. “Among these learning expenses is the access to mobile and internet services that allow students to make use of online tools, resources, and platforms to enhance their learning experience and school performance,” she said.
If the bill becomes law, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) would oversee its rollout, with telecom companies required to file quarterly compliance reports.
De Lima pointed out that even with most schools back to in-person classes, the digital habits built during the pandemic haven’t gone away. “In today’s digital age, equal access to quality education is inextricably linked to digital connectivity or access to internet services. As the role of digital tools continues to expand, unequal access to technology serves as a barrier to quality education,” she said.
The bill is now pending committee action in the House of Representatives.
