Senate urged to approve ICT Department bill

FOREIGN BUSINESS leaders have urged the Senate to pass into law a bill that would create an executive department devoted to managing the country’s information and communications technology (ICT).

The timely passage of the bill which establishes a Department of ICT will ensure the sector remains competitive despite the economic crisis, the Joint Foreign Chambers said in a letter to the Senate dated May 19.

An outsourcing industry group agreed, saying that such a move will support their growth.

Senate bill 2546 had been filed last August by Senators Jinggoy P. Estrada, Loren B. Legarda, Edgardo J. Angara, and Antonio F. Trillanes IV and is awaiting second reading. A counterpart bill has been passed by the House of Representatives.