THE government must push further the deployment of information and communications technology (ICT) in the countryside to enhance its development.
Bettina Quimson of the Department of ICT (DICT) said the deployment of ICT infrastructure has to be accelerated to hasten the process of inclusive growth. “However, the government must also be prepared to tackle and hurdle the sustainability challenge on ICT rollout in the provinces,” Quimson, DICT deputy executive director for eSociety, said in a roundtable at the recently concluded i-City Summit in Mandaluyong City.
She explained the government can focus in the delivery of services for people living in the rural areas. Quimson said the government can build a system that would not require people to go all the way to Metro Manila to secure official documents. “For instance, people still need to go a regional unit of the National Bureau of Investigation [NBI] to get their clearance instead of going to the nearest NBI office.”
Prof. Reynaldo Lugtu of the Asian Institute of Management said academe can play a major role in developing the digital capabilities of barangays and the formation of intelligent cities (I-cities) in the country. “The academe can fill in the gap by doing research on the policies of the government and recommending the solutions to the problems,” he said.
Lugtu added the education sector can also foster collaboration between the government and its potential partners on future projects in ICT. “The academe can advise government to develop a sustainable road map.” The DICT has implemented the National Community eCenters (CeC) Network and instituted the Philippine CeC Program to provide digital capabilities to the country’s 42,029 barangays, according to Quimson. The initial blueprint was the First Strategic Roadmap of the Philippine CeC Program for 2008 to 2010. This was followed by the Strategic Roadmap of the Philippine Community eCenter Program for 2011 to 2016.
“The new road map is not just connecting people in far-flung communities,” the DICT said in a statement posted on its web site. “It is giving them the opportunity to change their lives and their futures as their communities gain self-reliance and a new power to initiate change.”
According to the DICT, the goal is “to promote the socioeconomic development and enhance the productivity of Filipino communities through the convergence and availability of affordable, appropriate and critical ICT-enabled services in the CeCs, thereby improving the overall quality of life.”
Other goals include the establishment and strengthening of CeCs across the country and the provision of services and content for socioeconomic development of communities.