No room for ‘personal agenda’ in gov’t IT projects

By Erwin Oliva - INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines -- If there’s any advice that the outgoing president of the Information Technology Association of the Philippines (ITAP) could give to government officials implementing large information technology projects, it is this: “Set aside personal agenda.”

Cynthia Mamon, outgoing president of ITAP, lamented the continued misuse of government funds in recent mega-IT projects, including the Commission on Elections' voided automated counting machine project and the aborted National Broadband Network (NBN) project of the Department of Transportation and Communications.

Mamon who is also president and managing director of Sun Microsystems Philippines (SunPhil), stressed that projects like the NBN are good if government policies and processes, such as those identified in the government procurement law, are followed.

The IT executive acknowledged that the inconsistent implementation and varied interpretations of the current government procurement law have led to failed government IT projects.

She said that government IT projects could follow the example of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which has successfully implemented a long-term modernization program and has improved the agency’s operations.

“(Government IT projects) should have real, authentic objectives that set aside any personal agenda or motives or even the desire for personal enrichment,” she added.

IT projects can be successful with better cooperation between government and the private sector, she added.

She suggested that while agencies are expected to be accountable for IT projects, there should be another agency focused on just monitoring the impact and the success of government IT projects.