#tech bills

With the opening of the 19th Congress following the inauguration of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., developments in technology and the future of the emerging digital economy are among the key issues the Philippines has to contend with moving forward, while still juggling the competing demands of the ongoing pandemic. In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos noted that "we are entering an age of exponential adoption of technology.  It is the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The scale and the speed at which these innovations are introduced universally into our everyday lives and activities is unprecedented in our recorded history." Lawmakers, meanwhile, have filed their first bills in this Congress. Some of the tech-related bills are as follows. Digital Taxation Act While the rate charged to digital service providers vary depending on who filed the corresponding bill (there are multiple bills filed in the current Congress with the aim to mandate digital taxation), the overarching theme would be levying taxes on services made available through electronic or online means. One Tablet One Student Act; One Laptop for Every Public School Teacher Act These are separate bills filed in the present Congress, but they would be tackled in the same section considering how they both deal with similar needs in the education sector. Read more in our articles including "Tech Bills to watch out in the 19th Congress" and "YugaTech Ovi App for Nokia Phones".