Foreign groups rally behind creation of ICT Department

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign business groups in the Philippines are once again lobbying for the creation of a new government body solely focused on developing the information and communications technology in the country.

In a letter to House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) of the Philippines reiterated its call for the creation of a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

“JFC has long supported positive reforms that seek to promote a national ICT development agenda through the creation of DICT to further consolidate the country’s position as an internationally competitive investment destination,” foreign business groups said.

With the establishment of a DICT, the Philippines would join the over 80 percent of countries worldwide which already have dedicated stand-alone government bodies on information and communications technology, JFC said.

The business groups said the DICT would 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.

“E-governance can be implemented more effectively at a national level under a DICT. This will result in increased transparency, efficiency, clarity for foreign investors and a significant decrease in the administrative burden for companies, which, in turn, will encourage compliance through easier processes,” the JFC said.

“Cybersecurity will also become a priority under a DICT. The formulation of a strong protection and enforcement framework against cybercrime is of key importance in terms of investor protection and goes hand in hand with the future growth potential of service outsourcing sectors as it becomes an ever bigger concern for companies worldwide,” the groups added.

The JFC said increased efficiency and a reduction of costs for the government would also be a direct result of the establishment of a DICT given that its primary mandate includes rationalizing and unifying the management of relevant government ICT-related functions and programs which are currently assumed by numerous agencies.

“In this context, we urge the House of Representatives to pass the corresponding measure of the DICT bill already approved by the Senate, with the objective to ratify the bill before the end of the 16th Congress. The establishment of a DICT will ensure that the Philippine business environment can enjoy the benefits of one more landmark bill before the end of the current administration,” the JFC said.

“In addition to our full support for the establishment of a DICT, we would like to reiterate that the foreign business community in the Philippines is wholly committed to actively supporting the implementation of a future DICT law, to ensure that the creation of a DICT translates into overarching benefits for the competitiveness of the Philippine economy at a regional and global level,” the JFC added.

The JFC is a coalition composed of the American, Australian-New Zealand, Canadian, European, Japanese and Korean Chambers of Commerce in the Philippines as well as the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters.

The groups combined represent over 3,000 member companies engaged in over $230 billion worth of trade and some $30 billion worth of investments in the Philippines.