Aquino thumbs down proposed ICT dep’t

Posted on September 08, 2015 08:03:00 PM

PRESIDENT BENIGNO S. C. Aquino III yesterday thumbed down a proposed measure creating a Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT).

“I’m not sure that there is a need for a department specifically for IT (information technology), currently the ICTO (ICT Office) seems to adequately meet all of the challenges with regards to IT… security, speed, connectivity and so on,” Mr. Aquino said in an interview with Philippine Daily Inquirer aired live via government-owned PTV-4.

The ICTO is under the Department of Science of Technology.

Last month, the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines (JFC) urged the legislative leadership to pass the measuring creating a DICT, similar to one that hurdled the Senate earlier this year.

In a letter sent to House Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr., JFC said “by establishing a DICT, not only will the Philippines join over 80% of countries worldwide which already have dedicated stand-alone government bodies on ICT, but it will also drive the modernization of business processes at a horizontal level and establish the necessary criteria for the Philippines to remain a global leader in the IT-BPM-KPM sector.”

— Kathryn Mae P. Tubadeza

Source: www.bworldonline.com