Private sector told, Bureau office enoughto oversee ICT growth

CEBU, Philippines - Amid calls for the re-installation of the Department of Information Communication Technology, government officials gave private stakeholders the assurance of ICT development even without a department level office to oversee the sector.

Senator Francis Joseph “Chiz” Escudero, who is one of the authors of a bill pushing for the creation of DICT, stated the lengthy process of the country’s bureaucracy before this goal can be realized, however said that while it is good for the country to have a dedicated office to oversee the booming ICT sector, having none is not a disadvantage at all.

The current ICT office, the Senator said is doing its job, and even functions like a department, even if it’s only an office attached to the Department of Science and Technology.

"At least things are moving forward for the sector," Escudero said.

Likewise, ICTO deputy executive director Monchito Ibrahim said that in the meantime, while the office functions in a bureau level, a lot of things is being done and programs to be undertaken, given the hyper-active private sector players.

Ibrahim further said the ICT sector is one of the sectors in the country where PPP (private-public-partnership) is alive, and assured the industry that the Philippines can compete globally with this active constant collaboration.

Last week, Department of Budget and Management secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad announced the release of P878.5 million to the DOST-ICTO to support the second phase of iGovPhil project.

The iGovPhil is one of the vital parts in the e-Government Master Plan of 2013-2016, which aims to maximize the use of ICT resources through shared ICT infrastructure, services, and applications for national government agencies.

iGovPhil has a total project cost of P2.53 billion implemented from 2012 to 2016. DBM has previously released P164.6 million to ICTO in 2012 for the first phase of the project.

The latest P878.5 million funding--charged against the FY 2014 E-Government Fund--will cover funding requirements of the second phase project.

At present, the Business Process Outsourcing sub-sector of the ICT or the Information Technology Communication-Business Process Management  industry is generating over 900 thousand direct workers, with revenue of $15.5 billion.

The Philippine government is hitting to reach over a million direct employees of the outsourcing industry by the end of 2014 with estimated revenue of $17.5 billion.

In the next two years, the government targets at least $25 billion in revenue, and hit the 1.3 million direct employees.

Last year, in an interview with DOST secretary Mario Montejo firmly said that as far as the Aquino administration is concerned, creating another department dedicated to address the needs of the BPM and ICT sector is not necessary.

According to Montejo, the ICTO, which is under the umbrella of DOST, is more than capable of handling the needs for the fast growing IT and outsourcing sectors, in fact, the budget allocated for the commission is four times bigger than before.

Montejo reiterated that since the DOST has the competence and experience to uphold the interest of the ICT sector, it may not be necessary to install another department to oversee the sector.

Meanwhile, the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines maintained that a separate department that will handle the sector is seen to give boost to the country’s big revenue contributor.

NICP chairperson Jocelle Batapa-Sigue said that the Philippines should install a DICT, as it has already taken off as one of the world’s top outsourcing destination, otherwise, this opportunity will be wasted.

An Executive Order issued by the President in 2011 was signed to transfer the former Commission on Information and Communication Technology, under the shelter of  DOST. (FREEMAN)