House of Representatives of the Philippines House panel approves proposed ONE Philippines Act The House Committee on Information and Communications Technology chaired by Rep. Joel Roy R. Duavit (1st District, Rizal) has approved for floor deliberation a measure that seeks to create Community Information and Communications Technology Centers (CICTCs) and/or ICT Hubs in every legislative district of the country. [Hon. Joel Roy R. Duavit] House Bill 4926, to be known as the On-line Network Establishment Policy for the Philippines or the ONE Philippines Act, establishes a nationwide inter-connectivity among local government units (LGUs) from major cities, through ICT Hubs, to simple barangays, through the CICTCs. The measure is the substitute bill to House Bill 3344 authored by Rep. Rose Marie Baby Arenas (3rd District, Pangasinan). House Bill 4926 identifies through the Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICTO) the areas in every legislative district where the CICTCs or ICT Hubs shall be located pursuant to the development of a comprehensive Internet superhighway, national ICT plan and the national, provincial, city or municipal spatial and development plans, Arenas said. [Hon. Rose Marie Baby J. Arenas] As defined under the measure, ICT Hub refers to a center or location where services may be provided through the use of ICT with a minimum speed of 4 megabits per second (Mbps). Such services may include telecommunications services, broadband and convergence services, business processing and data management. According to Arenas, the measure also encourages private sector to establish ICT Hubs or CICTCs in accordance with the standards set by the ICTO. IT-related industries, BPO/contact centers, and tourism are among the priority investment areas in the Investment Priority Plan. With more investment in these industries, especially in information and technology, we should be able to create more ICT Hubs in every legislative district in the country, Arenas said. Arenas said the Philippines has 234 legislative districts in 81 provinces. If this bill becomes a law, 234 nodes can be established to pump prime economic activities and promote development in every province. The bill hopes to minimize the so-called digital divide as well as speed up the setting up of a wireless communication technology, Arenas added. Arenas stressed that with an ICT Hub; each legislative district in the country will be able to harness its potential into making it investor-friendly and accessible. It can also electronically promote the provinces’ nerve centers to connect to the various agencies of the national government thereby pushing the growth of e-government locally and nationally. The ICT Hub can also link a province to the national government during times of national calamities and disasters. More importantly, with the ICT Hub, the archipelagic feature of the country can be bridges, thereby creating One Philippines, Arenas said. The bill proposes to give incentives to locator enterprise or Public Telecommunications Entity (PTE) in the ICT Hub or CICTC as provided for under existing laws, in addition to the incentives given by the local government unit where such ICT Hub or CICTC is located. A fine of P300,000 through the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) shall be imposed on violators for committing the following acts: non-disclosure, non-interconnection or non-compliance with the committed information rate and quality of service. Moreover, the measure proposes to create an advisory council tasked to solicit inputs for the policy, direction, coordination and supervision in the establishment of ICT Hubs and/or CICTCs in every legislative district of the country. Co-authors of the measure are Reps. Felix William Fuentebella (4th District, Camarines Sur), Mariano Michael Velarde (Party-list, BUHAY), Rodrigo Abellanosa (2nd District, Cebu City), Neri Colmenares (Party-list, BAYAN MUNA), Antonio Tinio (Party-list, ACT TEACHERS), Terry Ridon (Party-list, BAYAN MUNA), Raul Del Mar (1st District, Cebu City), Romero Federico Quimbo (2nd District, Marikina City), Sharon Garin (Party-list, AAMBIS-OWA), Raneo Abu (2nd District, Batangas), Estrellita Suansing (1st District, Nueva Ecija), Mercedes Alvarez (6th District, Negros Occidental), Magnolia Rosa Antonino-Nadres (4th District, Nueva Ecija), Jose Zubiri III (3rd District, Bukidnon) and Victoria Noel (Party-list, AN WARAY).
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 14:30:59 +0000
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