My Consulting Hat

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For more than two decades, I've worked alongside my nonprofit and writing life as a lawyer and policy consultant, advising governments and international development organizations on information and communications technology (ICT), telecommunications, competition policy, and digital governance.

Much of this work sits quietly behind the scenes — drafting laws and providing technical support to legislators pushing the same, a chapter in a national economic development plan, a regulation that shapes how millions of Filipinos access the internet. ‍

What I Do:

  • ICT and telecommunications law and policy — helping regulators and legislators design rules for fast-changing technologies

  • Competition policy — promoting fair, contestable markets, particularly in network industries

  • Digital governance — advising on how government should regulate (and sometimes not regulate) the digital economy

  • Legislative and regulatory technical assistance — turning policy goals into workable legal text and helping decision makers and stakeholders to navigate complex political and economic arenas‍

Selected Highlights ‍

Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028 — Competition Chapter. Tapped by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to lead a multi-agency effort drafting the plan's chapter on competition policy.

USAID Better Access and Connectivity (BEACON) Project — Technical Manager(2021–2025). Served as Technical Manager for BEACON, a $35 million USAID activity focused on ICT and spectrum regulation reform in the Philippines. Successfully helped to shepherd the passage of the Konektadong Pinoy Act(2025) which opened up internet infrastructure-sharing to increase broadband competition and access across the country.

USAID Trade-Related Assistance for Development (TRADE) Project — Component Lead (2013-2016). Provided technical and advisory support to the Philippine Competition Commission and both Houses of Congress on competition and ICT law and policy. Led the expert team behind the landmark Philippine Competition Act and its implementing rules, and helped shape the 2022 Public Service Act amendment that redefined "public utility" to allow up to 100% foreign ownership in telecommunications, airlines, and other key sectors previously capped at 40%.‍ ‍

Number Portability Law (2019) — Worked closely with Senator Sherwin Gatchalian in support of the Mobile Number Portability Act, signed into law in 2019 as Republic Act No. 11202. By removing the cost of switching numbers, the law strengthens competition among telecom providers and gives consumers real freedom to choose the best value for their money.‍

Last Mile Initiative - Philippines (2005-2006) — Served as Program Manager for the Last Mile Initiative–Philippines at a time when internet access and digital services were still in their nascent stages and remained out of reach for much of rural Philippines. Working with the government, the USAID-supported initiative helped establish 13 Community e-Centers across Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao — exceeding its target of 10 —giving underserved communities affordable access to the internet, communications, learning, government services, and economic opportunities. It also supported 18 public high-school e-Centers and developed training and operational models to help these centers respond to local needs and remain financially viable. ‍

Voice Over Internet Protocol (2005) — Conceptualized the legal theory, and drafted the memo that led the Philippine National Telecommunications Commission to classify VoIP as a value-added service (NTC Memorandum Circular No. 05-08-2005). At the time, long-distance calls ran as high as 40 cents a minute. Prices plummeted as a result of the ruling which also helped open the market, and set the stage for the cheap, ubiquitous international calling Filipinos take for granted today.

Where Policy Meets Storytelling

Some of my policy work has found its way into my children's books.

Safe Space: A Kid's Guide to Data Privacy and YOUTHINK: Fight Fake News!, commissioned by Globe Telecom and Google respectively, two of the most pressing issues in ICT policy into stories and activities that young readers can understand.

Both won the National Children's Book Award in 2022, and both grew directly out of my legal and policy practice in information technology.

Teaching

‍I taught ICT Law and Policy at the University of the Philippines College of Law from 2003 to 2011 — work that ran alongside, and often fed directly into, my consulting engagements of the same period.

Education & Recognition‍ ‍

  • BS Business Economics (Dean's Medalist), University of the Philippines

  • Bachelor of Laws, University of the Philippines College of Law

  • Master of Laws (LLM), University of San Diego

  • Master of Pacific International Affairs (MPIA) / (Valedictorian, Allison Award), UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy‍

Honors:

  • Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Fellowship (2014)

  • Outstanding Alumnus Presidential Award, University of the Philippines (2016)

  • Alumnus of the Year, UCSD School of Global Policy and Strategy (2008)‍ ‍

Get in Touch

If you're working on ICT policy, competition regulation, or digital governance in the Philippines or the broader region, I'd welcome a conversation.

Email: alampay@gmail.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alampay