DICT
The Department of Information Communications Technology, implemented by President Duterte, has had significant challenges since its inception. Now it is in the headlines because Secretary Salalima resigned, alleging difficulty in dealing with “bureaucracy and politics” in public service.
President Duterte intimated that Salalima has a serious conflict of interest having been the lawyer for Globe. I find that insinuation regrettable and hard to believe unless proven with facts. Salalima is a highly regarded lawyer fully conversant on ICT policy. I will have no further comments on the resignation.
The critical role of ICT to economic growth
ICT is the convergence of two industries considered distinct in the past: Information Technology (IT) and Communications. This became inevitable with the rise of the digital economy. To put it simply, communications provides the infrastructure to deliver information to the public and IT is the system and process that enables users to manage the content that is delivered.
As a recent survey conducted by Huawei for APEC concludes: “Digital transformation and the new digital economy are hurtling forward like an unstoppable bullet train, and economies need to hop on board or get left behind – embrace these trends, or lose out on rapid growth opportunities. The only ticket aboard this train is developing more solid digital infrastructure which will lay the foundation for a more efficient and intelligence driven model of social development.”
It is a fact that ICT adoption has a positive impact on GDP, employment, innovation, and competitiveness, all of which contribute to inclusive and sustainable growth. A report by the OECD shows that a 10 percent increase in broadband penetration raises per capita GDP growth by 0.9 to 1.5 percentage points. Another report by the International Telecommunication Union finds that, on average, the overall employment multiplier for broadband investment on directly created jobs is 1.55; on indirectly created and induced new jobs, the multiplier is 2.77.
That same survey ranked the Philippines 17th out of 19 economies in the Global Connectivity Index based on 40 indicators of readiness and impact on economic growth. In ASEAN, we are just above Indonesia and Vietnam, and below Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Malaysia has shown the fastest progress which has been attributed to increased use of ICT among citizens, as well as an improvement in overall user experience, following major improvements in its digital infrastructure. By definition, digital infrastructure is comprised of five technology enablers: no longer just broadband but also data centers, cloud, big data, and internet of things. The worrying trend is that the Philippines is in danger of falling behind the digital divide unless it makes massive investments in these infrastructure areas, future-proof its workers through training, and provide the enabling regulatory environment.
Presidential pronouncements and DICT Law
In at least two occasions, including his first SONA speech, President Duterte referred to two priorities of his government. First, the availability of faster and more affordable access to the internet, and second, the efficient delivery of government services to the public. On the latter, his instructions, as I recall, was that no citizen should be made to wait in long lines for government service. He even set a target of three days for all agencies to complete the processing of permits, licenses, clearances, etc. Both goals fall clearly under the mandate of the newly created DICT.
Section 2h of the DICT law (RA 10844) specifies that it is the policy of the state: “To promote the use of ICT for the enhancement of key public services, such as education, public health and safety, revenue generation, and socio-civic purposes.” Further, Section 3c defines “Electronic Government or e-Government shall mean the use of ICT by the government and the public to enhance the access to and delivery of government services to bring about efficient, responsive, ethical, accountable and transparent government service.
Artificial intelligence and robotics should be included as a new mandate.
Attributes of the DICT secretary
It is now appropriate to discuss the selection of a new DICT secretary. Section 11 of RA 10844 specified the required qualifications: “No person shall be appointed secretary, undersecretary, or assistant secretary of the Department …. .with at least seven (7) years of competence and expertise in any of the following: information and communications technology, information technology service management, information security management, cyber security, data privacy, e-Commerce, or human capital development in the ICT sector.”
It is significant to note that the law recognizes that specific technical skills are required. I would like to think that it will not become the dumping ground of politicians or classmates or campaign supporters. The fact that a major portion of his responsibility is regulatory in nature requires a person of probity and integrity.
Since his responsibility is managing the relationship between communications and information technology, the new secretary needs to be conversant with both and how each overlaps with the other. He has to have the perspective of both and not just to concentrate on one to the detriment of the other. A person whose experience is primarily in the telecoms industry will obviously focus on building the networks, while one with a purely IT background will prioritize implementing government systems.
The new secretary should, therefore, also be citizen focused – one who would view everyone dealing with government as a customer, whose needs and wants, will have to be satisfied by every government agency. He would also have to be process oriented so he can view government service as a seamless interaction of multiple agencies for better public service. He would have to navigate through the bureaucracy to start breaking down the resistance of current government agencies to the integration of existing systems.
The presidential pronouncements as well as what is specified by the DICT Law is crystal clear. Lamentably, attainment of his pronouncements or the dictates of the law is not clearly discernible. He can make a giant step forward to achieve his promise by appointing a DICT secretary who has the qualities to step up to the challenges.
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