QC to manage RP-Korea IT center

The Quezon City government will soon be taking over the responsibility of managing the $4.3-million Korea-Philippines Information Technology Training Center (KPITTC) located at the compound of the QC Polytechnic University in Barangay San Bartolome, Novaliches.

A memorandum of agreement to formalize the management turnover to Quezon City was signed by Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Secretary Augusto "Boboy" Syjuco, director general of the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) at TESDA headquarters in Taguig City.

With the turnover, the city government will be providing funding requirements for the management and operation of the center, including the provision of qualified personnel to man the facility.

To implement this arrangement, a governing board is being set up by the two parties that shall serve as the policy-making body responsible for setting the strategic direction of the center. The board, to be composed of 15 members, will be chaired by Belmonte.

Seven others, including the vice chairman will come from the Quezon City government. The Korean International Training Cooperation Agency (KOICA) will have one representative while TESDA will have two. Two membership slots have been reserved for sectors that may be needed to be represented in the future.

Belmonte and Syjuco agreed to harness all available resources to develop and maintain the center as a national training institution that will provide the skills requirements of the country’s information and communications technology sector.

Present during the agreement signing were Dr. Manuel Alba, senior adviser to the mayor and Dr. Santiago Yabut, TESDA deputy director general for field operations.

The opening of the IT center in Quezon City was among the highlights of South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun’s state visit to the country. He and President Arroyo, inaugurated the center in December last year.

Belmonte described the IT training center as "an eloquent expression of the strong cooperation and partnership between the Philippines and Korea."

The establishment of the center further boosts the city’s claim of being the IT capital of the Philippines.