PNoy: We're fully committed to ICT

A couple of weeks after dissolving the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) via Executive Order 47, Pres. Noynoy Aquino III appears to be wooing the local ICT industry by declaring during an unveiling of an R&D lab on Monday that his administration is not about to throw away the gains of the ICT industry, particularly the BPO (business process outsourcing) sector. Aquino, in a speech delivered at the launching of NetworkLabs, the research and development facility of Nokia Siemens Networks at the UP-Ayala TechnoHub in Quezon City, assured stakeholders that the government will develop the industry further. “… [M]ay I commit, and recommit again: this government is here to serve its people, but we are also here to help those who have been helping us. Count on it. Come to us and tell us if there are things that can be done better, to make sure that your decision to invest in the country and its people was the best decision you can make," he told the audience, which included top NSN executives. The chief executive noted that the Philippines, after becoming a worldwide leader in the BPO industry, is continuing its climb in the IT value-chain with the inauguration of the R&D facility that provides services to global companies such as Nokia and Siemens, as well as local firms such as PLDT and Globe. “This is why we are doing what we can to sustain the positive momentum of our business sector, and to get even more businesses to set up shop here," Aquino said. The government, he added, has been offering generous tax incentives to BPO-related investments income tax holidays that last six to eight years. He said the World Bank has cited this measure which has resulted in a 2010 net margins rate of 11 to 21 percent for the industry, compared to India’s rate of 13 to 16 percent. The government, through the Department of Trade and Industry and the Board of Investments, also provides generous incentives to firms that fall under the Omnibus Investments Code and other laws, the president added. “I don’t want this to be the last inauguration I visit. We want to see more businesses opening, and to see many more skilled Filipinos being employed. More businesses open, more opportunities for our countrymen, so that our countrymen will have to show what they are capable of," Aquino declared. To underline the contribution of ICT, Aquino cited the cases of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) which used automated cell phones to provide early warning to communities about landslides and floods, and the Department of Health in rolling telehealth. “Better communications will enhance the way our doctors consult with each other, the way we acquire medical data, and the way we monitor patients. In the near future, it may even be possible for some of our doctors to serve people in far-flung areas through online communications," he said. Aquino said even the Conditional Cash Transfer program utilizes various e-money systems. Lastly, Aquino said: “Our administration commits itself to taking advantage of the hard work of those involved in this sector — to use the developments in information technology so that we may serve our countrymen even better, so that we may respond to their concerns as quickly as possible, and so that we may lift this country to its rightful place in the sun." — Newsbytes.ph