Information Technology in the Philippines

INTRODUCTION

P

hilippine President Fidel V. Ramos is one of the information-technology (IT) adept leaders of Asia. In fact, he and Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir were the first among ASEAN leaders to confer and chat online via the Internet.

Enroute to the APEC Leaders' Summit in Canada last November 1997, President Ramos met with Bill Gates of giant Microsoft Corporation, Oracle chairman Lawrence Ellison, and other software multinationals for the signing of a series of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) to enable the Philippines to "leapfrog" into the 21st century via information technology. The collaboration involves areas such as software, resources, and support services for the use of IT in education.

POLICY FRAMEWORK

The Philippines is pursuing IT initiatives according to an overall strategic plan dubbed "National Information Technology Plan 2000" (NITP). The first major achievement under NITP was the enactment of Republic Act 8293 or the Intellectual Property Rights Law in June 1996. One of the agreements between Microsoft and the Philippines involved collaboration to curb software piracy.

The NITP is being implemented by the National Information Technology Council (NITC) which has already issued Memorandum Circular 115 urging all government agencies to spearhead the acquisition of legitimate software. The council also initiated software site licensing agreements with Microsoft and IBM.

Bills have been filed in Congress designed to accelerate IT development, namely: House Bill 6095 (An Act Providing a Magna Carta for Scientists and Other Science and Technology Workers, authored by Rep. Amado Bagatsing; and HB 7249 (An Act Mandating the Computerization of Government Transactions and Procedures, sponsored by Rep. Oscar Rodriguez; and HB 7869 (The Philippine Internet Access Act).

STATE OF INTERNET

Year 1997 saw the emergence of several hot-selling Internet-oriented magazines and other publications, an indication that Internet has reached a broader base among the people. There are already over 100 Internet Service Providers. Home page addresses or URLs are now regularly appearing in print, radio and television.