Inclusion of Internet cafes in 2001 IPP backed

The inclusion of Internet cafes in the annual listing of priority investment areas as espoused by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will benefit majority of Filipinos who do not own computers.

This is the reason why leading website marketing company, Prosperity.Com, supports DTI efforts to offer incentives to community access centers such as Internet cafes and kioks. Malcolm Crawley, chairman of Prosperity.Com, said more Internet cafes mean more people being able to access the Internet.

"This is a big boost to our corporate mission of educating Filipinos on the importance of having a website for personal and business use and its contribution to making the Philippines a major IT player in the world," he added.

Crawley said the advent of Internet cafes and kiosks makes it unnecessary for one to own a computer to surf the Internet or to access websites. This provides equal opportunity for those in the middle class and the poor who cannot afford to buy a computer.

Prosperity.Com sells websites to individuals, companies, associations, and other organizations. Currently, the company hosts the sites of 50,000 website account owners. This is proof of the great demand for websites all over the country.

Filipinos have discovered the tremendous opportunities in business and communications that owning a website offers, like making one’s business accessible to potential clients and opening one’s business to electronic transactions via e-commerce and e-banking.

Crawley revealed that Filipinos use their websites more for personal pursuits like keeping in touch with relatives and updating one another by posting pictures and other relevant information.

Crawley said the positive steps taken by DTI show the government’s commitment to transform the Philippines into a knowledge-based economy. He cited President Arroyo’s acceptance of the chairmanship of the Information Technology and Electronic Commerce Council (ITECC) and the move to include Internet cafes and IT schools in the 2001 investment priorities plan.