Magsaysay hints installing ICT secretary to cut red tape

CEBU, Philippines - Instead of pushing to create a Department of Information Communication and Technology (DICT), former Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr., pushes for the installation of a Secretary, to avoid bureaucracy and cut on government’s additional expenditure.

Magsaysay, who is one of the authors of the eCommerce Law in the Philippines, said that if he will be given a chance to serve as Senator, he will advocate for the appointment of a Secretary (not a Commissioner) for the ICT sector, he however agrees that the CICT will remain under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

“If we are going to create another department of ICT, it would mean another bureaucratic process, and will need more budget from the government. What the sector needs is not a department, but a Secretary that will be directly under the supervision of the President,” said Magsaysay who was in Cebu Wednesday.

Magsaysay recognized the importance of the ICT sector, saying that this revenue-generating sectors should be given an utmost attention, and that a Secretary should be appointed,” we don’t need to install another department.”

If a Secretary of CICT will be appointed, the urgency of the concerns and programs will be addressed on time.

Magsaysay also plans to meet with the ICT private sector players, to convince them of his plan, instead of pushing for the creation of Department of ICT.

Earlier, the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) emphasized that a separate Department that will handle the sector is seen to give boost to the country’s big revenue contributor.

NCIP 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.

“The growth of the ICT sector is not the ‘handiwork’ of GMA [Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo]. It’s a natural evolution brought about by the cooperation of the stakeholders,” said Sigue in an attempt to convince the administration the importance of setting up a DICT, instead of putting it under the umbrella of Department of Science and Technology (DOST) via the implementation of Executive Order  47.

The Executive Order issued by the President  was signed in 2011 to transfer the former Commission on Information and Communication Technology (CICT), under the shelter of DOST. This move has disappointed the ICT stakeholders all over the country, specifically that there was no consultation held with the players.

“The executive order 47 downgraded the value and underestimated the importance of ICT as tool for a digitally empowered, innovative, globally competitive and prosperous society where everyone has reliable, affordable and secure information access in the Philippines and a government that practices accountability and excellence to provide responsive online citizen-centered services and a thriving knowledge economy through public-private partnership,” stakeholders said in an earlier official appeal to the President.

The group further said that the implementation of the EO has unjustly overlooked the effectiveness of CICT as an adviser and channel of sound government ICT policies for the last ten years, along with its accomplishments that surpassed the expectations of the ICT community, despite of its budget, which is a pittance compared to the other existing government agencies, which have no clear-cut directions and “no accomplishments to show.” — Ehda M. Dagooc

The group reiterated that by scrapping the CICT, EO 47 has derailed plans to fast track development and provide opportunities for investment and jobs to other regions in the country.   (FREEMAN)