CLARK FREEPORT – CyberCity Teleservices president Jonathan Rosenberg urged yesterday the government to “guard carefully” the Filipinos’ “command of the English language” as its key advantage in the world’s still growing information and communication technology (ICT) industry.
This, even as Pres. Arroyo, who was guest at the 2nd National Information and Communication Technology Confederation of the Philippines, vowed to further boost government efforts in ICT.
She noted that already, her administration has initiated efforts to build up the telecommunications infrastructure and open the market for internet phone calls, assure appropriate policies and legal environment, and develop “human capital to close the digital divide.”
In his speech during the summit, Rosenberg noted the “good news” that the Philippines “has not even scraped the potential of the ICT and BPO (business process outsourcing)” as he urged the country to advance to the next ICT level in the world market.
“The recent economic crisis was not an obstacle but a differentiating factor in ICT,” he said, noting that the Philippines remains “known as a high quality platform cherishing the English language.”
At the same time, the President noted that the National Outsourcing Association of the United Kingdom recently chose the Philippines as “offshore destination of the year”, as she thanked the private sector in the local ICT for this.
“The Philippines was ranked as among the best offshore hubs, “she said, as she attributed this to “your highly trainable, highly proficient, IT-enabled management and manpower.”
She noted that in 2001, the Philippine’s IT industry was “virtually nothing with only 4,000 workers” but these days, the industry has provided good-paying jobs to hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in their own country.
“We built up the telecommunication infrastructure and opened the market for internet phone calls, “she said, citing information that from 40 cents a minute, international direct dialing (IDD) calls have gone down to as low as only two cents.
The President also noted that during the last typhoons, operations of BPO centers remained uninterrupted arising from a new technology adopted after the country was cut off from the internet following an earthquake in Taiwan.
Mrs. Arroyo also noted that “to ensure appropriate policy and legal environment, we asked Congress to form a Department of ICT.”
In the meantime, there now exists an ICT task force which she heads and a Commission on ICT created via an executive order, she added.
But she stressed minimal government intervention and regulation in the ICT industry. “Our role is only to provide enabling environment,” she said
The President said that the third ICT concern of the government is on “the development of the human capital to close the digital divide”, as she noted numerous trainings conducted to employ people in call centers.
The government has made P5 billion direct investments on ICT, mainly for manpower training, she added.
This, even as Pres. Arroyo, who was guest at the 2nd National Information and Communication Technology Confederation of the Philippines, vowed to further boost government efforts in ICT.
She noted that already, her administration has initiated efforts to build up the telecommunications infrastructure and open the market for internet phone calls, assure appropriate policies and legal environment, and develop “human capital to close the digital divide.”
In his speech during the summit, Rosenberg noted the “good news” that the Philippines “has not even scraped the potential of the ICT and BPO (business process outsourcing)” as he urged the country to advance to the next ICT level in the world market.
“The recent economic crisis was not an obstacle but a differentiating factor in ICT,” he said, noting that the Philippines remains “known as a high quality platform cherishing the English language.”
At the same time, the President noted that the National Outsourcing Association of the United Kingdom recently chose the Philippines as “offshore destination of the year”, as she thanked the private sector in the local ICT for this.
“The Philippines was ranked as among the best offshore hubs, “she said, as she attributed this to “your highly trainable, highly proficient, IT-enabled management and manpower.”
She noted that in 2001, the Philippine’s IT industry was “virtually nothing with only 4,000 workers” but these days, the industry has provided good-paying jobs to hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in their own country.
“We built up the telecommunication infrastructure and opened the market for internet phone calls, “she said, citing information that from 40 cents a minute, international direct dialing (IDD) calls have gone down to as low as only two cents.
The President also noted that during the last typhoons, operations of BPO centers remained uninterrupted arising from a new technology adopted after the country was cut off from the internet following an earthquake in Taiwan.
Mrs. Arroyo also noted that “to ensure appropriate policy and legal environment, we asked Congress to form a Department of ICT.”
In the meantime, there now exists an ICT task force which she heads and a Commission on ICT created via an executive order, she added.
But she stressed minimal government intervention and regulation in the ICT industry. “Our role is only to provide enabling environment,” she said
The President said that the third ICT concern of the government is on “the development of the human capital to close the digital divide”, as she noted numerous trainings conducted to employ people in call centers.
The government has made P5 billion direct investments on ICT, mainly for manpower training, she added.
