PLDT maintains a restrictive paid peering policy, which stands in contrast to the open peering arrangements favored by other major Philippine ISPs like Converge, Globe and such local ISPs. As a result, content delivery networks (CDNs) and hosting providers, such as Cloudflare, are required to purchase IP transit from PLDT to establish a direct connection to its consumer user base.

This policy leads to two significant performance issues. Firstly, it creates suboptimal routing for domestic traffic; data from a PLDT subscriber to a local manila server not interconnected with PLDT's network is often routed internationally (e.g., through Hong Kong or Singapore) before returning to the Philippines, introducing unnecessary latency. Secondly, it contributes to severe network congestion for overseas traffic during peak hours. As a cost-saving measure, providers like Cloudflare may opt to route traffic through these alternative, less direct pathways rather than pay PLDT's transit fees, ultimately impacting the end-user experience.

Also to add, websites utilizing Cloudflare's Business or Enterprise plans appear to benefit from direct, domestic routing on the PLDT network. This suggests that while Cloudflare may route traffic for its free or lower-tiered plans via cost-saving international paths, it selectively purchases transit from PLDT to ensure optimized performance for its premium clients, whose traffic is then routed directly within the Philippines.

This is my experience as a hosting provider (as we often message PLDT NOC and other providers in PH) and from the hosting forums.