Does Senate Bill No. 2546 sound familiar? If you’re part of the Philippines’ IT and BPO sectors, it should.
SB 2546, or the “Act Creating the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Defining Its Powers and Functions, Appropriating Funds Therefore, and For Other Purposes”, is a bill that’s currently pending second reading in the Senate of the Philippines. The purpose of the bill, as mentioned in its long title, is to create the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) which will become the organization that draws together communications-related offices dispersed among the Office of the President and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC).
This just means that this new department will become the primary policy-making, planning, coordinating, implementing, regulating and administrative entity of the government that will plan, promote and aid the development of the Philippines’ Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. One of the main purposes of the DICT when established is to enhance the global competitiveness of our country’s ICT. The DICT, together with other Philippine government agencies, is also intended to address major issues related to the IT and BPO sectors such as intellectual property rights, human resources, data protection, security, and quality management and standards.
Presently, many other economies are competing against the Philippines for a share of the huge global services sector, and most if not all of these economies already have established administrative organizations in charge of their own ICT sectors. India’s government, for one, has created and implemented policies and initiatives to ensure that its IT-enabled outsourcing market remains the first choice of companies who need IT outsourcing services. The South African government has also launched its own BPO Government Assistance and Support Programme (GAS) in 2007 because it recognizes the potential investments and employment opportunities the BPO sector will bring to the country.
Several groups and notable individuals have already expressed their support for the enactment of SB 2546, one of them being Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. As early as 2008, the President had already sent an official letter to then Senate president Manny Villar to immediately enact the certified SB 2546. The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) had also conveyed its support for the passage of the bill back in 2008. BPAP stated in its position paper that the association fully supports the creation of DICT as this will serve as a catalyst for achieving BPAP’s Roadmap 2010 plan. In the said plan, BPAP recommends that the Philippines set the goal of achieving 10% global market share by the year 2010. BPAP states that Roadmap 2010 can be attained by accomplishing a portfolio of initiatives that the association will undertake with the help of stakeholders and hopefully, the Department of Information and Communications Technology if established.
Senator Richard Gordon, the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP) as well as officials from the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) have also expressed their support for the passing of the bill. NICP released a position letter just this month to state that the group is all for the immediate approval of SB 2546. NICP chair Jocelle Sigue believes that it’s about time lawmakers heed the call for the creation of a DICT. The group further states that despite the global economic turmoil in 2008, the IT-BPO sector managed to contribute $6 billion dollars worth of export revenues and created some 400,000 jobs by the end of that same year.
NICP and JFC are both urging Senate to approve the bill before the coming national elections in May citing the vital role that ICT plays in the country’s economy. Malacañang has also prodded lawmakers to pass several measures including SB 2546 to ensure that the Philippines stay competitive when it comes to the IT and BPO sectors. With these groups and individuals supporting the enactment of Senate Bill 2546, it seems likely that the Department of Information and Communications Technology will be established in next to no time.