{"id":"2e971b69-897b-4d63-a988-2e682fb9ca72","url":"https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3371383/philippines-laws-underwater-cables-lagging-behind-its-digital-hub-goal","domain":"scmp.com","outlet":{"name":"South China Morning Post","country":"HK","cred":4,"lean":0,"curated":true,"owner":"Alibaba Group"},"title":"Is Philippines’ laws on underwater cables lagging behind its digital hub goal?","plainHeadline":"Philippines' subsea cable rules lag behind its digital hub goal.","rewrite":{"model":null,"at":null},"summary":["PLDT urges streamlined approvals and stronger government cooperation for subsea cables.","Experts say fragmented oversight delays cable deployment and repairs in the Philippines.","Outages recently affected subsea cables linking the Philippines to Singapore and Hong Kong.","NDCP aims to develop a regulatory framework to safeguard submarine cables and connectivity.","Officials highlight a need for unified data, security measures, and faster repairs."],"topics":["Energy","Politics"],"lang":"eng","publishedAt":"2026-10-19T09:36:22.000Z","ingestedAt":"2026-10-19T10:01:58.394Z","story":"https://brief.concise.news/story/89c920a7-0b05-47fd-ac6e-c84d52e096e8","storyId":"89c920a7-0b05-47fd-ac6e-c84d52e096e8","image":"https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1280x720/public/d8/images/canvas/2026/10/19/f69abd13-b9e0-4472-97df-0841bd47150b_ac8f84b4.jpg?itok=9Vp37-h1&v=1792402569","author":"Sam Beltran","dek":"The Philippines’ telco industry wants the country to become a regional digital hub anchored by stable underwater cables, but a leading executive and analysts warn that slow approvals for repairs, limited monitoring and fragmented official oversight could undermine the ambition."}