MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is set to identify a new batch of cities in the country which are deemed as ideal investment destinations for information technology and business process management (IT-BPM).
According to the DICT, an additional 20 digital cities will be unveiled by March.
“Being named as a digital city speaks of the city’s capability to cater global business investments in the IT-BPM sector,” the DICT said.
“It also entails continuous support from the DICT in the form of talent and infrastructure development, as well as assistance in creating ICT councils that would manage these cities business environment, among others,” it said.
To date, there are a total of 25 duly recognized digital cities all over the country.
These are Metro Cebu, Davao, Bacolod, Metro Clark, Iloilo, Dumaguete City, Sta. Rosa City, Dasmariñas City, Baguio City, Legazpi City, Naga City, Cagayan de Oro City, Tarlac City, Laoag City, Puerto Princesa City, Lipa City, Balanga City, Taytay in Rizal, Dagupan, Malolos City, Roxas City, Tagbilaran City, San Fernando City in La Union, Cainta in Rizal and Palayan City.
DICT said significant changes such as overall boost in economic growth, increase in employment and commercial activity, and improvement in the quality of lives among communities have been observed in these localities since their recognition as digital cities.
“The cities soon to be added to the list are projected to experience the same progress as those that were first identified. They are also forecasted to further add to the national economic growth of the country,” the agency said.
The additional cities will be selected according to the scorecard system developed in collaboration with IT-BPM locators or investors through the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines.
The set of metrics reflects what investors look for in selecting the perfect location for their business such as talent availability, infrastructure, cost of doing business, business environment and risk management.
Digital Cities is a program under the Digital Philippines initiative of the DICT that aims to transform the country to enable full utilization of the potentials of ICT.