RESIDENTS OF BARANGAY San Rafael, Rodriguez, Rizal expressed alarm after the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) installed “free wifi” in their barangay last May, aware that it would be used by the National Task Force-Elcac to monitor them.

The report said the NCIP itself revealed the purpose of the “free service.” In a May 24 meeting, its staff instructed residents to use the free wifi to “contact the NTF-Elcac and report things to maintain peace in the barangay.”

Users of the service must provide their name, age and gender, which means the NCIP and NTF-Elcac will collate users’ personal information. The “free service” was built in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program and the Broadband ng Masa program.