Solon proposing ICT hub in every province

A lawmaker is proposing the establishment of an information and communications technology hub in all 81 provinces in the Philippines.

Hoping to boost the development of the high-tech industry in the country, Pangasinan Representative Rachel Arenas said the proposed measure, dubbed "One Philippines Act of 2007," would also create a "digital infrastructure fund" amounting to P50 billion for government seed capital on the development of the Philippines’ ICT hubs.

Under the proposed measure, the Department of Transportation and Communication (DoTC) would provide necessary implementing rules and regulations in collaboration with the League of Provinces.

Similar to how the Philippine Economic Zone Authority grants incentives to companies locating in economic zones, the bill indicated that the ICT hubs would provide five-year tax breaks from national taxes.

The locators in these ICT hubs should come from business process outsourcing companies and other related ICT services, such as animation, software development, medical and legal transcription.

The lawmaker also said that the ICT hubs should be outside of the urban centers or the capital of a province.

The embattled DoTC has been in the middle of a controversial national broadband network project, which hopes to provide a centralized broadband network for the Philippine government.

Arenas said her bill hopes to boost investments in the provinces, and eventually bridge the proverbial digital divide. By Erwin Oliva - INQUIRER.net