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Central Government, E-Government, Government CXO, Policy

Establishing a central government IT agency in the Philippines

By James Smith | 9 November 2005

A government agency responsible for consolidating the Philippine public sector’s technology initiatives is nearing completion – 13 years after the idea was first floated.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will shortly become a reality, following successful lobbying from the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), an interim body created by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Th House of Representatives committees on government reorganisation and information and communications technology have given their nod on a pending bill creating the DICT. This bill will pass another round of review before it is brought to a plenary session by the Philippine Congress for final approval.

Former National Telecommunications Commission Commissioner and now Congressman Simeon Kintanar is head of the ICT House committee. Kintanar co-authored the DICT bill with Congressman Victor Sumulong. Both lawmakers were involved in the consolidation of separate proposals creating the new department.

Kintanar told Public Sector Technology & Management that he is giving the proposed measure an added push amid other bills competing for attention of Congressional lawmakers.

“This bill intends to create a department that will take care of the government ICT policy direction, as well as promote the ICT industry in general. Right now, there’s a Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) that is doing this, but we still need an agency to head these efforts,” Kintanar explained.

According to the DICT bill, the new department will consolidate the current ICT functions of government agencies. Currently each government agency pushes their respective e-government agendas, with some financial help from the CICT.

The new department will also merge together the National Computer Center of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Telecommunications Office (Telof), an agency under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

Meanwhile, the National Telecommunications Commission, a government regulatory body overseeing the telecom industry, and the Philippine Postal Corp., a government-owned and operated corporation, are set to become attached agencies of the ICT department.

“The ICT department is meant to only consolidate the Philippine e-government strategy,” according to Virgilio Pena, Chairman of CICT, as he explained the rationale behind the creation of the new department.

Beyond just creating a new bureaucracy, he stressed that the DICT will give the Philippine government “a more focused strategy on ICT,” which the country needs right now.

Pena said that the DICT is not meant to stifle the general ICT strategy of the Philippines, as Senators Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Manuel Roxas II have publicly stated.

Instead of “centralising” government’s ICT development strategy, which could restrict independent efforts of each government agencies, Senator Magsaysay stressed that government should push for a more democratised approach to the country’s ICT strategy.

Roxas has separately declared that the DICT bill represents “a regimented, command-and-control approach” to the development of the e-government strategy of the Philippines.

Pena, however, clarified that the DICT intends only to act as a coordinating agency for all e-government projects.

Pena said that the proposed Department of ICT will focus on four key areas: (1) development of the Philippine ICT human resource; (2) development of a digital infrastructure; (3) setting up of a more competitive environment; and (4) development of more e-government services.

The DICT will also create a council of Chief Information Officers who will coordinate the implementation of e-government projects in the country, as well as participate in ICT policy making for government.

“I think the expectations of the department are very high. But I believe that creation of a department will help the country a lot in the long-term,” Pena said.

The government executive likened the creation of the DICT to the creation of a tourism department in the past. Just like tourism, ICT is a bright spot in the Philippine economy that should be supported by an institution that is solely designed for this industry.

“We think the selling point for DICT is the opportunity that it creates for the Philippines. The biggest challenge right now is to increase awareness about the benefits of ICT to the country in general. I think we haven’t reached that stage, where ICT is foremost in the minds of the people,” continued Pena.

They deputy commissioners of the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue agreed with Pena.

Customs Deputy Commissioner Alexander Arevalo said the creation of a Department of ICT will demonstrate that Philippine government and its leaders are serious about ICT’s role in improving governance: “Now is the perfect time to push this,” says Arevalo.

Considering the political and economic crisis the country is going through this year Arevalo said the ICT department will help the country promote a more transparent government.

He went on to say that the lack of a single government body charting the ICT direction of government indicates that the current administration is not serious about e-governance and its role in economic development.

Arevalo sees the Department of ICT as a body that will eventually integrate and synergise all ICT efforts in government – something which would ultimately translate into cost-savings. The Bureau of Customs, for instance, will be able to save money if such department is able to encourage coordination among government agencies having similar initiatives in ICT.

“Government ICT initiatives should be interconnected with other agencies,” he stressed.

For her part, Lilia Guillermo, Deputy Commissioner for Information Systems at the Bureau of Internal Revenue, stressed the need to involve the government Chief Information Officers in the proposed Department of ICT.

“Government CIOs want to be part of policy-making from the very start. So this Council of CIOs that will become part of the department is very important for me,” she continued.

Guillermo said that the country does not really need a “powerful ICT body” but an agency that can “call the shots” in terms of setting standards for e-governance.

“A one-stop shop and integrated e-government service will bode well for the people. So we need this department to allow all agencies to coordinate in all government ICT initiatives. The DICT should become the CIO of the entire government,” she stressed.

Guillermo said that while the DICT is expected to serve as a catalyst for governance, it will play an important role in making public services accessible and easier for Filipinos.

“At BIR, we have used ICT to run after tax evaders. But we are also using the same technology to make our services accessible to tax payers,” she explained.

CIOs from the public and private sector seem to have similar expectations for the new IT agency.

Dr Ronaldo Tan, Director of the IT Centre of local university Adamson University, said that the Department of ICT should help gather information and assess the country’s place in the ICT industry worldwide.

“An honest to goodness assessment and plan where the country should focus its resources together with the different key players in the field should be done,” added Tan.

Ruel Agustin, Information Technology Manager of McDonalds Philippines and member of the Society of Information Technology Management Professionals (SITMP), said ICT department should spearhead the development of the government ICT strategy.

“It is about time that we create one department that would focus on ICT. After all this is a very important industry in our country today. This has been pumping money to our economy as well as creating enormous job opportunities for the Filipino people,” Agustin said.

The McDonald’s Philippines IT executive noted that the ICT department should lead the development of all government information standards and architecture to deliver basic services to people.

Agustin also stressed the need for a department of ICT to promote continuity of ICT initiatives in government.

“I expect the agency to spearhead crafting the government strategic ICT directions instead of it becoming just a flagship project of the next new administration. Usually initiatives fade with the entry of a new administration,” he said.

Erwin Rommel Amador, Technical Group Head, of Estore-Exchange, was more specific with his concern with the creation of a new ICT department.

“The expectations are high of this proposed department. The tasked of networking different branches of government is a tough task. But I expect corruption to be minimised when this is done. My only concern is the budget and if there is enough political will to do all of these things. For us in the private sector, an ICT will mean easier access to the documents needed in our business,” he said.

“The creation of a Department of ICT will determine the future development of the Philippines,” concluded Customs Deputy Commissioner Arevalo. “Without it, the country would likely miss the opportunities that ICT and e-government has to offer to improve the governance in this country.”

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