DICT could 'synchronize' gov't IT work--industry group head

The government is showing signs of progress in terms of information technology but a full-fledged department is still needed to "synchronize" its various IT projects, according to the head of a local industry group.

Peter Tan, Information Technology Association of the Philippines (ITAP) president, noted that several government agencies have made progress with their respective projects, most of them in automating public services.

"The government is still the biggest IT market and there have a been a lot of projects in the last two or three years," said Tan, also president and CEO of Fujitsu Philippines.

Tan, however, noted that the government could save a lot of existing resources by synchronizing these projects by various agencies.

"IT in government remains very much fragmented…all the more that we need a DICT [Department of Information and Communications Technology] to bring harmony into all these initiatives," Tan told INQUIRER.net.

A bill proposing the creation of a DICT has been languishing in Congress, owing to questions and lack of enough support from the Senate.

The Arroyo administration has instead created the Commission on ICT (CICT) as an interim body handling IT initiatives, including promoting the Philippines as an investment destination for the high-tech and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries.

"But the CICT still lacks teeth right now to be able to address this," said Tan, referring to the synchronization of IT in government. "But I believe it will be quite some time before a DICT finally becomes a reality." By Lawrence Casiraya - INQUIRER.net