NCC expects to complete 100 community e-centers by 2006

By Alexander F. Villafania INQ7.net

The National Computer Center (NCC) is close to completing its original plan of establishing 100 community e-centers (CEC) across the country by mid next year despite a late start.

The NCC has already put up 69 CECs, 49 of them fully operational and 20 are in the process of setting up.

NCC field operations director Maria Teresa Camba said in an interview that the NCC’s original agenda was to finish building 100 CECs by early next year, but this has been pushed forward by a few more months.

The NCC is fulfilling its original mandate to build the CECs despite delays, she added. “In fact, we’re already discussing with some local government units who are interested in putting up a CEC in their municipality.”

The NCC is also continuing its partnership with the Development Academy of the Philippines, which will train the CEC administrators. The DAP will provide additional information on fully utilizing their facilities to administrators, Camba said.

“What we want to do is to make the CECs more than just Internet cafes. We’re already talking to community leaders in each CEC location so that they could get their constituents to use the CEC.”

The NCC received 30 million pesos from the e-Government Fund to pursue the project. The original plan was for at least seven CECs in each of the country’s 16 regions, separate from the National Capital Region.