Civil society group calls for restoration of CICT

The organization of ICT councils in the country has found an ally in the Black and White Movement, a civil society group known as a major supporter of Pres. Noynoy Aquino, which has called for the revocation of Executive Order 47 that dissolved the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT). National ICT Confederation of the Philippines (NICP), in a statement issued on Monday, commended the Black and White Movement for “boldly and correctly advising the President." The Black and White Movement has earlier put out a statement which contained, among others, a plea for the chief executive “to rescind the executive order and restore CICT to the Office of the President to give ICT the importance and attention it deserves." “We believe that ICT is a major engine for economic growth. Dissolving CICT, the primary agency responsible for the development of ICT through E.O. 47 and transferring its functions to DOST, send the wrong signals to the ICT industry and the international community that ICT is not a priority for this government," the civil society group said. Black and White Movement counts Vicente “Enteng" Romano, an active IT practitioner before immersing himself in civil society, as one of its leaders. Romano had been appointed by Aquino as tourism undersecretary but quit the post after taking responsibility for the botched launch of the country’s new tourism campaign. The NICP, whose chair Jocelle Batapa-Sigue signed the statement in behalf of the organization, cited the Black and White Movement “despite the fact that it has publicly supported the Aquino presidency in 2010". “[It] chose to be objective and not turn a blind eye on a wrong move of Malacanan that will not only hurt the ICT industry and our nation in general but will likewise hamper the goal of the Aquino administration for job generation," the NICP said. By making the stand, the NICP said the Black and White Movement has “indirectly shown concern for all the cities, provinces and regions outside of Metro Manila which have become united under the CICT." “The CICT regardless of its officials had been the symbol of unity for NICP to come together and be connected to other major organizations such as those from the industry, academe and other national line agencies. This is one sterling example of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program that has been proven effective since almost a fourth of the IT-BPO industry or about a hundred thousand of its direct jobs can now be found in the countryside," the NICP added. The group pointed out that the abolition of the CICT has left the “ICT councils orphan and without a catalyst, and unless the CICT is restored, our momentum and eventually our growth will be greatly affected." It added: “The Department of Science and Technology can never efficiently take the place of the CICT, given that time is of the essence, the embedded bureaucracy of a department as well as its limited core competencies and mandate." Last week, the NICP, which is composed of different ICT councils across the country, reported that the Iloilo city council has passed a resolution urging Aquino to revive the CICT. — Newsbytes.ph