PLDT Inc. said Wednesday it secured the approval of the Tagbanua Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICC) for a submarine cable project to fortify Palawan’s digital infrastructure with additional undersea routing.
Members of the Tagbanua Central ICC in Napsan, Puerto Princesa, and the Tagbanua Calamian ICC in Busuanga signed separate memoranda of agreement (MOA) with PLDT and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
The agreements reinforce a shared commitment to recognize and protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights while adhering to cultural, social, and environmental safeguards during the implementation and completion of the Palawan Resiliency Submarine Cable Project.
A third signing with the Tagbanua Tandulanen ICC in Sibaltan, El Nido is scheduled in June.
The project, led by the company’s network team, aims to enhance the reliability, resiliency and capacity of the PLDT network across the province. The infrastructure will provide critical network redundancies to keep Palawan communities connected to essential services, especially during emergencies.
“We are thankful for this opportunity to work more closely with our Tagbanua communities, so that we are able to build resilient network infrastructure that also honors their customs, rights, and stewardship,” PLDT vice-president for network design and engineering Arvin Siena said.
The initiative aligns with broader efforts to bridge connectivity gaps and improve network reliability across far-flung areas in the Philippines.
“Strengthening Palawan’s network resiliency supports PLDT’s broader mission of nation building through digital inclusion. Through network resiliency and expansion projects in critical areas like Palawan, we can help bridge connectivity gaps, improve network reliability, and ensure that even far-flung communities are able to reap the benefits of the internet with no island left offline,” PLDT chief operating officer and network head Menardo Jimenez said.
“As we partner with communities like the Tagbanua and the government, we prove time and again that meaningful digital transformation must be grounded in shared responsibility,” Jimenez said.
