GOV'T SHOULD TAKE LEAD IN LINKING ACADEME
AND INDUSTRY - ANGARA

Senator Edgardo J. Angara said that the government should take the lead in creating stronger ties between academe and industry as the country looks to develop more public-private partnerships (PPPs).

Angara, Chair of the Congressional Commission on Science Technology and Engineering (COMSTE) noted that a majority of the business community look to the government to foster a closer relationship with the academe, since both business and academe have a wide gap between each other.

A report from the COMSTE Information and Communication Technology (ICT) panel states that it is important to link the initiatives of the government, industry and academe to better develop the ICT industry.

The report also indicated that the government needs to implement reforms that will make it easier for businesses to interact with the government. The Philippines is ranked by the World Bank at 133rd out of 178 countries for ease of doing business, below Indonesia and a little above Timor.

Angara noted that the ICT industry, which could contribute up to $10 Billion to the economy this year, needs to move higher up the value chain and aim for high value projects, not just providing service.

"The Reseach and Development (R&D) that encourages innovation is not adequate," said Angara, who further said that the government must take the initiative in creating an environment which encourages entrepreneurs to pursue software development, software design, animation and high value projects.

The ICT panel report showed that from 1995 to 2005, the patent records in the country indicated only 43 applicants, and from 1948 to 2006 only 21 were approved from local universities and R&D institutes.