Press Release
January 13, 2010

Pushing for a greater role for ICT in improving RP competitiveness
DEP'T OF ICT IMPERATIVE IN RP - ANGARA

Senator Edgardo J. Angara today underscored the relevance of information and communications technology in boosting the country's dwindling global competitiveness by promoting the creation of RP's ICT department and urged for the establishment of DICT to ensure the provision of strategic, reliable, cost-efficient and citizen-centric information and communications technology infrastructure, systems and resources that will support nation-building and global competitiveness.

"Ensuring the capability of the country in providing accessible and competitive information and communications technology services fosters growth and opportunities for Filipinos to compete in a fast-evolving ICT environment of the world," explains Angara, chair of the Senate Committee on Science and Technology.

He added, "ICT is a tool to boost a country's overall competitiveness by improving the efficiency of production processes across sectors and industries, accelerating the growth of knowledge-based services, and empowering people to access unprecedented sources of information and markets."

"It proves to be a significant catalyst for national development, without which, coordination between government offices and partnerships with concerned agencies will be very tedious and time-consuming. The Department of Information and Communications Technology, in this respect, shall coordinate with various public and private agencies to facilitate different government initiatives such as the e-government objectives in particular and national objectives in general," laments Angara.

The E-Government Fund which shall be created for the Department will serve as a special fund for cross-agency and government-initiated ICT projects. The fund will be used to support and co-finance projects that enable the government to expand its ability to conduct activities electronically and provide frontline services through the development and implementation of innovative uses of the Internet or other emerging technologies.

SB 2546 seeks the creation of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in that, once passed, shall be responsible in handling all ICT-related plans and initiatives of the government for a consistent and coordinated function. It will also ensure the establishment and development of an integrated government framework that will optimize all resources and development programs for ICT-enabled services sectors.

"We must develop our government's ICT capabilities in order to provide our Filipinos with adept ICT-enabled programs that will equip them to be globally competitive individuals. Coordination between the private, government and even the academe is perceived to be a good way to combine different perspectives for ICT development," said Angara.

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