Bam on Lack of Unified eSports Body: “All Stakeholders Must Work Together”

On June 10, 2015, the Philippine Fair Competition Act (PCA) – A bill that will seek to limit unfair trade monopolies and other collusive business practices in the country — was ratified by Congress. It is currently awaiting the executory signature to be passed into law from the President, Benigno Simeon Aquino III.

Also known as the Anti-Trust law, the bill’s principal author Senator Benigno Paolo “Bam” Aquino, hopes that the measure will honor consumer rights and protect small players from cartels; large business entities will be expressly prohibited from bullying tactics against smaller competitors and more importantly: these same business entities will be forbidden from artificially controlling prices for services for consumers.

So what does this mean for us in the eSports field?

Prior to the bill’s ratification in the Lower House and the bicameral stage, an industry especially integral to the eSports and videogame industry was one of the prime targets for the bill.

Recent studies have shown that the Philippine internet service providers (ISP) still rank among the most expensive in the Southeast Asian region. It also ranks as some of the slowest in the region, pegging at 21 out of 22 Asian countries surveyed.

According to cloud services provider Akamai, the Philippines experienced a slight increase in speed in the fourth quarter of 2014 with an average internet speed of 2.7 MB and peaking at 21.9 MB.

Previously, the country’s average internet speed was 2.5 MB.

Will the new Anti-Trust law finally enable the Philippines to reach a new level of competitiveness not only in the business sphere, but also where competitive videogame events are concerned? Will the law improve economic conditions, ripening the country for further investments from multi-billion dollar videogame studios to setup shop in the Philippines?

To answer these questions, we spoke with Senator Bam Aquino on the Philippine Competition Act: What it means for the country, the eSports industry and other topics.

Questions by eSports Inquirer are in bold. 

A big part of gaming, eSports and Philippine society at large is the lamentable state of our internet speed. What has become of your efforts to improve connectivity in the country?

We’ve worked together on the slow and expensive Internet connection for one year now, with different stakeholders – from our public agencies to our telecom companies and independent experts and consultants.

The Department of Justice has released its guidelines on truth in advertising with regard to Internet offerings in print, TV, radio and internet advertisements.

The Philippine Competition Act has passed the bicameral stage and is awaiting executive signature before it becomes a law: How will this help the country improve internet connectivity?

Recently, I spearheaded the Philippine Competition Act, which has passed both houses and is just awaiting the signature of the President to be enacted into law. This landmark law, which sets the rules and promotes competition in all our markets, will hopefully make it easier for new players to enter and compete.

The law also creates a Philippine Competition Commission, much like the Federal Trade Commission of the US, to analyze and monitor industries, and even penalize players, to make sure that competition is not unreasonably and substantially restricted by any player.

Citizens are most familiar with a popular Reddit thread that describes how PLDT keeps internet speeds slow. Will the Competition Act remove their roles as supposed gatekeepers to the national backbone? Will it spawn new companies that can help provide faster speeds at lower costs?

Through the law, we hope that other companies who wish to compete in the industry may be encouraged to enter, to raise quality of service and bring down prices for our consumers.

Telecommunication companies are now working on an agreement with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for IP Peering that will help speed up in the transfer of local data among networks.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) is also expected to craft, within the year, a memorandum circular that will set the minimum Internet speed and quality for all telecommunication companies to follow, be it through a mobile connection or fixed line.

The more significant reform needed though is having a more robust telecommunications industry by seeing more competition in the market. There are significant players thinking of entering the space, and much like other markets, the entry of these players will hopefully change the dynamics of the market for the better.

Switching over to gaming at large: What’s our roadmap for gaming industry in the country? You mentioned before that we are looking to throw our hat in in game design, animation and production. Where are we now and who are we attracting?

We’ve been working with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and several agencies in creating incentive packages for companies that do gaming design, animation and production. The goal is for them to locate their studios in the Philippines.

Specifically, GDAP and our office have been working to woo a Triple-A studio to be the first major locator here. This deal is in its final stages and we will announce it once it is signed.

This studio is known to be an anchor studio which spurs the development and entry of other video game studios once it sets up in a country or city. It has some of the best franchises in the market, which is why we are really excited for this partnership to continue.

In terms of eSports: Does the fact that eSports is projected to become a $15 billion-large spectator industry by 2016 fit in with any existing plans? Can the Philippines take advantage of this growing industry?

The stakeholders need to get their act together to take advantage of the booming eSports industry. A good first step is to form the association of all the stakeholders to plan properly and to execute programs efficiently.

Admittedly, other countries are way ahead of us in the space, but we can catch up, especially buoyed by the enthusiasm of our countrymen for the sector.

Youth addiction and unsupervised play is a real concern in the esports and gaming industries. What are your thoughts about gaming in the youth and how can we overcome these issues while still enjoying the benefits of the industries?

I haven’t seen a serious study on what percentage of gamers are addicted to a point where it is harmful already. The anecdotes are truly worrisome, but these cases may still be in a significantly small percentage of gamers.

In any case though, like in any sport or hobby, moderation is key. Families, parents, guardians, and even peers need to play their role in guiding young people who may be addicted.

The internet cafes also have a role to play. Self-regulated guidelines for maximum number of hours can also be imposed by the cafes.

Outright banning of certain games in cafes in cities or municipalities, though, is an overreaction.

The Philippines recently missed out on largest tourney of the year, Ti5, who now has a prizepool of 12 Million USD. What are your thoughts on this? Do you follow Dota 2 and these teams closely?

We’ve been following our teams closely and it was unfortunate that we missed out on the tournament this year. We hope that we will do better next time!

The hullabaloo with Rave missing out on some opportunities because of immigration issues seems to have been resolved quietly. Can you comment on this? What can future esports professional hopefuls expect from immigration services?

We’ve facilitated meetings with agencies so that our cyber athletes would be able to clarify their status and iron out requirements and documents.

As everyone witnessed, their trips after the ‘hullabaloo’ had no issues.

OFFLOADED — Senator Bam met with three members of Team Rave to discuss their run in with immigration officers on their way back to South Korea.

Switching gears for a moment: It seems that every year, multiple eSports organizations pop-up around the country. A talking point in the community is the need for a centralized association to handle eSports issues. With a lot of organizations competing with each other, how can the esports industry in the country find stability?

Is the answer to emulate Korea, and KESPA, who created a centralized body that is aligned with a government agency? Have these organizations contacted you for a solution?

Several stakeholders in the online gaming development and e-Sports industries contacted us and have asked us to facilitate the formation of an association that will oversee the needs and the welfare of the players and other stakeholders.

I suggested that this association be self-regulated; government intervention can be kept to a minimum.

Speaking of government intervention: Esports as a whole is a very misunderstood industry. What does the eSports industry need to do to secure government assistance? Do we need government at all or is a stronger commitment from private sector and stakeholders the key?

To succeed, we need all the stakeholders to come and work together to push for the development of the industry. Creating the association is a good step to having that unified voice that can address misconceptions about the sector.

Finally, with talks from different sectors hoping for professional acknowledgement of gamers: Do you think that Gaming and eSports should have a more professional structure? Many people who rely on games as a means to make a living earn informally — often below minimum wage.

If I’m not mistaken, this is one of the agenda of the stakeholders that want to form the association — having better standards across the board, but especially for professionals in the Gaming and Esports industries.

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