CONTRIBUTION FROM THE PHILIPPINES
delivered by
UNDERSECRETARY FORTUNATO DE LA PEŇA
Department of Science and Technology
Philippines
At the
UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR
DEVELOPMENT
7-10 January 2013
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, a Very Warm Greetings from the
Philippines!
It is with great pleasure that I share with you how the Philippines is undertaking
activites to achieve the goals and objectives of the World summit on Information
Society (WSIS). I am very privileged to share with you what the Philippines has
done to improve the life of the 97 Million Filipinos by embracing the power of
science and information and communications technology (ICT).
Consistent with the WSIS objectives, the Philippines is now implementing
activities based on our Philippine Digital Strategy, which is firmly grounded on the
principle of universal access and universal service to ICT. This seeks to ensure
that all our citizens have access to ICTs and can utilize them for livelihood
opportunities, education and other socio-economic benefits.
We are continuing to install ICT and broadband facilities in schools as part of our
effort to link elementary schools and high school together via a system that will
enable them to access the internet and allow the government with the support of
the private sector to deploy learning resources to each one of them.
Access to
the internet and its available resources opens new opportunities for learning for
both the students and teachers.
As part of our effort to promote e-government and e-governance, we are now
embarking on an “integrated online government initiative”, called iGovPhil.
Considering anticipated benefits of improved government services and better
accessibility of public services, in addition to more transparency and
accountability, we started last year the iGovPhil program to integrate all common
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applications of the Philippine government to allow the ordinary citizens to avail of
public services seamlessly at a very affordable rate if not for free. Through this
project, Filipinos will get connected, be well-informed and advised on
urgent/emergency issues.
On a more advanced adoption of ICT, many organizations have embraced
eCommerce and mobile computing to promote their products and services. With
the decreasing cost of smart phones, availability of local brand and its increasing
functionality, mobile users in the Philippines which is now estimated to surpass
the 100% penetration mark are now migrating to smartphones. On-line shopping
and on-line payment have increased due to some portals that sell products and
services on a reduced rate. Travel and Tourism in the Philippines has benefited
from ICT specifically in promoting the country’s rich resources and nice-to see
spots.
We are cognizant that expanding the internet to rural villages leads to new
opportunities for non-agricultural employment, better-paying agricultural jobs and
greater overall productivity. Throughout the Philippines, Community eCenters
(CeCs) which is more than 2,000 have been continuously being developed where
citizens including women, children and the marginalized sector gets to the
mainstream and enjoy the many benefits that ICT can offer. Through this CECs,
digital divide has been minimized. It would be interesting to note that this
program has been successful because of the intense support from local
government
units,
telecommunication
operators
and
community
leaders/volunteers. The CeCs together with around 7,000 Internet Cafes in the
Philippines make up the community-based shared facility to access the internet..
In line with our desire to be ready at all times and mitigate the effects of climate
change and disasters, the Philippine Government through the Department of
Science and Technology (DOST) has introduced a program called NOAH,
wherein ICT tools and gadgets have been installed in high-risk areas to
accurately forecast disasters and provide early warnings to the public. This
system has provided alert messages/ warnings related to floods, rains and
earthquakes. Certainly, this project has prevented loss of lives and properties
caused by calamities that the Phillippines has experienced recently.
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To promote data privacy and security on the use of the Internet, the Philippines
passed the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 and Data Privacy Act of 2012.
These measures are expected to protect ICT and Internet users by providing for
penalties
against
unauthorized
access,
among
others,
and
promoting
accountability and effective processes to effect data privacy.
Our activities have been developed and implemented on a multi-stakeholder
approach and in many cases with the support of international organizations such
as
the
International
Telecommunications
Union
(ITU),
Asia
Pacific
Telecommunity (APT). We have hosted and currently chairing the ASEAN
Telecommunications and IT Ministers Meetings and Meetings with Dialogue and
Development Partners. We are also currently chairing the Committee on ICT of
the Economic and Social Commission for the Asia-Pacific (ESCAP).
Thank you for your attention…. Maraming Salamat po
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