House panel approves creation of ICT hubs

MANILA, Philippines - The House committee on information and communications technology has approved a bill that seeks to create Community Information and Communications Technology Centers (CICTCs) and/or ICT Hubs in every legislative district of the country to boost connectivity and commerce.

The panel, chaired by Rizal Rep. Joel Roy Duavit, passed House Bill 4926 or the proposed “On-line Network Establishment Policy for the Philippines Act,” or simply, the ONE Philippines Act.

The measure seeks to establish nationwide inter-connectivity among local government units from major cities, through ICT Hubs, to simple barangays, through the CICTCs.

Pangasinan Rep. Rose Marie Arenas, principal author of the measure, said the bill identifies through the Department of Science and Technology’s Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO) the areas in every legislative district where the CICTCs or ICT Hubs shall be located pursuant to the development of a comprehensive Internet superhighway; national ICT plan; and national, provincial, city or municipal spatial and development plans.

As defined under the measure, ICT Hub refers to a center where services may be provided through the use of ICT with a minimum speed of four megabits per second (Mbps). The services may include telecommunications services, broadband and convergence services, business processing and data management.

The measure also encourages private sector to establish ICT Hubs or CICTCs in accordance with the standards set by the ICTO.

“IT-related industries, BPO/contact centers and tourism are among the priority investment areas in the Investment Priority Plan. With more investment in these industries, especially in information and technology, we should be able to create more ICT Hubs in every legislative district in the country,” Arenas said.

The Philippines has 234 legislative districts in 81 provinces. Arenas noted that if the bill becomes a law, 234 nodes can be established to pump prime economic activities and promote development in every province.

The bill hopes to minimize the so-called digital divide as well as speed up the setting up of a wireless communication technology, she added.

She also said with an ICT Hub, each legislative district in the country will be able to harness its potential to make it investor-friendly and accessible. It can also electronically promote the provinces’ nerve centers to connect to the various agencies of the national government, thereby pushing the growth of e-government locally and nationally.

“The ICT Hub can also link a province to the national government during times of national calamities and disasters. More importantly, with the ICT Hub, the archipelagic feature of the country can be bridges, thereby creating One Philippines,” Arenas said.

The bill proposes to give incentives to locator enterprise or Public Telecommunications Entity (PTE) in the ICT Hub or CICTC as provided for under existing laws, in addition to the incentives given by the local government unit where such ICT Hub or CICTC is located.