Assignment #7

Sona or the State of the Nation Address is delivered every year by the President of the Republic of the Philippines to report the status of the nation. SONA is given by the President before a joint session of both houses of Congress, pursuant to Article VII, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution, which reads: “The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also appear before it at any other time.”

As what I have understood from the full text of the state of the nation address of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, I have I identified three areas that are related to ICT and here are the following:

· Telecommunications
· Development of BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)
· Formation of Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)

Telecommunications
“Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.”

Philippines is one of the texting capitals in Asia, almost of the Filipinos in the urban area even in the rural area own a cellular phone. It is part of living of several Filipinos, telecommunications has always been tough and strong in helping the growth and development of the economical conditions especially in modernization and in technology. The telecommunication networks are most likely to be blamed since they are the ones which distribute cell phone loads. Fortunately, the government has found ways to prevent this further. If Telecommunication companies will reduce their rates, it will be a great help in minimizing the expenses of the people.

BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)
“Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity.”

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is a form of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of a specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. BPO is distinct from information technology (IT) outsourcing, which focuses on hiring a third-party company or service provider to do IT-related activities, such as application management and application development, data center operations, or testing and quality assurance. Frequently, BPO is also referred to as ITES -- information technology-enabled services. Since most business processes include some form of automation, IT enables these services to be performed.

Formation of ICT
The House of Representatives has approved on second reading a bill seeking to create a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). The bill must also be passed by the Senate and signed by President Arroyo before it becomes law.

After the DICT is created, all offices of the Department of Transportation and Communications dealing with communications and information technology would be transferred to the new department. These include the National Telecommunications Commission and the Philippine Postal Corp. The National Computer Center, which is attached to the Department of Science and Technology, would also be transferred to the DICT.

Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago, chairman of the House information technology committee, said a DICT must be created because the DOTC’s administrative and jurisdictional foundations can no longer cope with the rapid advances in ICT. “(The new DICT would) ensure the provision of strategic, dependable and cost-efficient ICT infrastructure, systems and resources as instruments for nation-building and global competitiveness,” he said. It would also promote a “policy environment of fairness, broad private sector participation in ICT development and balanced investment between high-growth and economically depressed districts,” he added.

Santiago’s committee, together with the committees on appropriations and government reorganization, has endorsed the DICT bill. Santiago listed other objectives of the proposed department:
• Ensure universal access and high-speed connectivity at fair and reasonable cost; provide ample ICT services in areas not sufficiently served by the private sector;
• Promote the widespread use and application of emerging ICT; and
• Establish a strong and effective regulatory system.

In the bill ICT is defined as “the aggregate of all electronic means to collect, store, process, and present information to end-users in support of their activities.” ICT consists of computer systems, office channels and consumer electronics, as well as networked information infrastructure, the components of which include telephone systems, the Internet, and satellite and cable television.

If ICT will be successfully formed, the development of Information technology in the Philippines will continue. It will give more jobs to the people and will bring more knowledge regarding the continuous evolution of Technology.