Congress urged to create infotech department

Saying it needs to ensure competitiveness in offshoring and outsourcing, the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) has asked Congress to pass a bill creating a Department of ICT in 2008.The CICT also asked Congress to enact the Philippine Anti-Cybercrime bill.“I am committed to sustaining the growth and competitiveness of our offshoring and outsourcing industry. CICT is working closely with the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and other industry associations, as well as ICT councils from the various regions and other stakeholders of the ICT industry in pursuing this objective," said CICT chairman and secretary Ray Anthony Roxas Chua III.Chua said the CICT has also created so far 11 regional ICT councils to improve the Philippines’ ranking as the fourth most favored destination for ICT services in the world.He noted President Arroyo created the CICT in February 2004 as a transitory measure, until a Department of ICT is created, “to address the urgent needs of the country’s fast-growing ICT industry."Business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, call centers, animation studios, software development and gaming businesses, medical and legal transcription outfits, knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) firms and most back office operations of multinational companies have found a gemstone in the Philippine Cyber Corridor, he said.Chua added the ICT industry hugely contributed to the growth of the Philippine economy. In 2005, ICT-related jobs totaled 163,000 and earned $2.1 billion for the country.Last year, the ICT industry generated a total of 244,000 jobs and raked in $3.6 billion in revenue. This year, the industry had aimed to employ 403,000 ICT skilled workers and earn $5.1 billion for the country.The private services growth picked up by 8.9 percent in 2007 from 7.7 percent in 2006. The highest contributor was the business services subsector which strengthened on the back of strong BPO growth which rose by 14.7 percent.Before the end of 2007, locators had planned to set up shop in places like Cabanatuan, Dagupan, Subic, Cavite and Tacloban, bringing the number of regions with locators to 30 or 35, Chua said.Chua also noted a new middle class emerging with a strong purchasing power funded by the ICT industry.