Creating jobs, improving government services, and empowering Filipinos
ANGARA SEES ICT AS A KEY FOR RP'S OVERALL COMPETITIVENESS

Recognizing the great potential of information and communications technology (ICT) to create wealth for the country, Senator Edgardo J. Angara underscored the need to form a permanent entity that would promote its utilization and to effectively coordinate and implement national and local ICT services.

"National competitiveness may be measured in different ways, one of which is a country's ability to generate knowledge, technology and services, and employ these in addressing specific needs. Information and communications technology (ICT) has helped improve almost every aspect of life and continues to grow and permeate all our activities. It has changed the way we live, work, learn and socialize," said Angara, who chairs Senate Committee on Science and Technology.

He added, "More than that, ICT is also 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."

Governments around the world are crafting policies and creating institutions for ICT growth, using various developmental approaches. Germany has an inter-ministerial agency handling Information Technology (IT) policies, while France and Portugal have established one central coordinating body, directly answerable to the chief executive.

Countries like China, India, Korea, Singapore, and Thailand have already set up ministries or departments to focus solely on ICT.

Meanwhile, Angara also observed that the country lacks a coherent, long-term policy for ICT development, as well as an agency that will implement the strategy.

"ICT proves to be a significant catalyst for national development. Without which, coordination between government offices and partnerships with concerned agencies will be very intricate. 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," said 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.

DICT will be the primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, regulating and administrative entity of the executive branch of the government for ICT development.

"Through the establishment of DICT, we hope to further promote ICT in the country as a tool to create jobs, improve government services, and empower Filipinos. During this particularly difficult period, we need every advantage that we can get. ICT is one way for us to have that advantage. The data and information, if we are able to utilize it properly, will allow us to make faster and better decisions, and react to crisis better, whether it be financial, or health related, or weather and crop forecasting. The possibilities of a unified ICT system in the country, led by the DICT, are endless," said Angara.