IT firms ask Palace to reconsider CICT abolition

MANILA, Philippines — A group of local technology companies has called on the government to reconsider its plan to abolish the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and transfer its functions to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

On June 23, President Benigno Aquino III signed Executive Order 47, which will dissolve the CICT as part of his program to streamline the government bureaucracy.

But the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) said stripping the CICT of its powers and turning it into a mere advisory body under the DOST would slow down the development of the country’s information and communications technology.

It would also hold back the modernization of government services to make it more efficient and convenient for consumers, the NICP said.

“The ICT sector is not only saddened but shocked by the sudden decision of the President to abolish the CICT, which has been the most effective champion of ICT development in our country for the last 10 years,” the NICP said in a statement.

“We are witnesses to the noble tasks of CICT as our dependable partner, catalyst and enabler. The growth of the IT-BPO (business process outsourcing) industry especially in the so-called Next Wave Cities outside of Metro Manila is something we owe to the CICT,” the group said.

Among the CICT’s vital tasks are to ensure universal access and high-speed connectivity at fair and reasonable cost, to foster the widespread use and application of emerging ICT, and foster the growth of the ICT industries.

Recently, the CICT also launched its Philippine Digital Strategy (PDS), a five-year roadmap outlining steps to be taken to modernize the government by equipping all state agencies with new technology.

“We believe that without the CICT, the tasks and targets under the PDS will be difficult to achieve,” the CICT said.

The CICT was formed in 2004 mainly to support the booming BPO sector. Its attached agencies, namely the National Computer Center (NCC) and the Telecommunications Office (Telof), will also be transferred to the DOST. –Paolo G. Montecillo, Philippine Daily Inquirer