Assignment 7(Due: before August 24, 2009, 13:00hrs)

SONA 2009. PGMA envisions Philippines to become a strong republic. With regarding to the ICT community, PGMA just gave a little talk about having a department of ICT without elaborating much of it. Well, honestly, that soon-to-be department must be too far from being soon. Hehe. You know what I mean. Lol.

“Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.” -PGMA

--That’s it. Department of ICT? That would be really great. But when? 10 years from now? When people start to ride a flying car? Hehe. Lol.

“Taxes should come from alcohol and tobacco and not from books. Tax hazards to lungs and livers, do not tax minds. Ang kita mula sa buwis sa alak at sigarilyo ay dapat gamitin sa kalusugan at edukasyon. Pondohan ang Philhealth premiums ng pinakamahihirap. Pondohan ang mas maraming classroom at computers.” -PGMA

-- I think this is somehow related to having a department of ICT. As what I can see, if this is really gonna happen or is happening now, the soon-to-be department of ICT’s job is to make sure that the taxes that come from alcohol and tobacco must be for the benefit of those school (especially public ones). Giving them new and efficient computer sets for the students to be more acquainted with the technology. Because it is known that some of the public school students are not computer literate. The soon-to-be department of ICT must make sure that the promises of PGMA must be done.

“In sum:
1. We have a strong economy and a strong fiscal position to withstand global shocks.
2. We built new modern infrastructure and completed unfinished ones.
3. The economy is more fair to the poor than ever before.
4. We are building a sound base for the next generation.
5. International authorities have taken notice that we are safer from environmental degradation and man-made disasters.” –PGMA

-- I am not on opposition side, in fact, I do like how PGMA is working on for the betterment of this country. But all I can read from her SONA was pure fallacy. I just don’t know where those big moneys are right now. This would be her last year if cha-cha is not pursued. It’s never too late for PGMA to make a move. I am aware that being a president is not as easy as being a classroom president. PGMA made sacrifices but only those on administration side saw it. There are so many intellectual giants living here. We, Filipinos are so intelligent that nothing can bring much contentment to us if we are not on power. Instead for fighting for the highest position, better help one another save this country. “We Filipinos are worth dying for”, that was according to Ninoy. But If I were him, I would not waste my life saving people who are not even worth it. See what I mean?

SOURCE:
http://quintessentialy.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/2009-sona-by-pgma-posted-on-inquirer-net/

The "State of the Nation Address" address was first mentioned in the 1935 Constitution, in Section 10 of Article VII:
The President shall from time to time give to the Congress information on the state of the Nation, and recommend to its consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.

“I did not become President to be popular. To work, to lead, to protect and preserve our country, our people, that is why I became President. When my father left the Presidency, we were second to Japan. I want our Republic to be ready for the first world in 20 years”.

As I watch the SONA ’09, this statement coming from our President Arroyo was create a center of attention for me as a concern student in our country.

Now let’s take the following discussions, about the related areas in ICT, during the SONA ’09.

1.)LYING ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS………..

“Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now”.

“Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT”.

--->Communication has been one of the most important aspects of the growth of human society and culture. Without it so many things would not get done, people would be divided, and the world would not be how it is. Telecommunications, the transmission of signals over a distance for a purpose of communication, is also very important.

Telecommunications role significantly, because it provides a lot for the world just like in the fields of:

* The commerce that telecommunications creates is a nice little chunk of the gross world product.
*It provides business, money and market stability in the world. Not only does it create these things as a product of itself, it benefits and enhances the whole world market by creating a tighter community and allowing for quicker reaction time and exchange of information.
*Contribution to science to consider. Development in telecommunication provides helpful research and foundation for other technologies

Telecommunications promotes a better awareness of society and human life. It helps develop solutions and gather support for causes and problems all over the world, making Earth a little closer and a little safer.

2.) ON AUTOMATED ELECTION........

As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address the highest exercise of democracy, voting!
“In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress”.

Automated election is a system using a appropriate technology for voting and electronic devices to count votes and canvass/consolidate results.

--->Stated on new process of voting implemented by the high government office, automated election provides a convenient way of voting among registered voters. Due to the rapid development of the technology, this new process of voting had been mandated to ensure a credible and transparent electoral process. The modernization of the electoral system through computerization shall be supported to ensure the credibility of polls and correct the deficiencies in the electoral system. Likewise, this new way of voting needs a higher assessments, because it concern to the moral results of votes that is justifiable among peoples and specially to answer the long cry and aspirations of many Filipinos.

3.)ON APPLIED INFRASTRUCTURES........

“Compared to the past we have built more and better infrastructure, including those started by others but left unfinished. The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is a prime example of building better roads. It creates wealth as the flagship of the Subic-Clark corridor”.
“We have built airports of international standard, upgraded domestic airports, built seaports and the roll on/roll off transport system. I ask Congress for a Philippine Transport Security Authority Law”.

--->With technology development increasing at enormous rates and systems being modified to have a less complex user interfaces, more and more people/consumers will use the internet, computers, or simply technology, to guzzle goods and services; thus creating a demand for businesses to maintain a similar pace. This overall stated areas stands for the convenient and suitable usage of the IT Infrastructures. Keeping this in mind, many businesses and different users are gaining a lot of benefits through the adoption of the IT infrastructures in support or surpass forecasted growth.


If our country will develop more the applications of the IT Infrastructures, merely, business, schools and other related structures will improve more the way of lifestyles and we never know, that 5 years from now we can be the worlds highly generated and developed and competitive country globally.

To answer this question, I surf the internet to look for the full text of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of our President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for this year that was happened on the month of July because I didn’t actually saw or heard the president on her speech.

After reading the full text, here are some of the areas that the president mentioned that I think related with the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) sector:

Creation of ICT Department
“Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT”

As part of the third-world countries, it’s good to know that finally our president decided to have a department that focuses on the issues related to information and communications technology. Compared to other countries, we should not limit ourselves with the modern breakthroughs and the latest trends of technologies that most countries are using nowadays especially those who belong in the first-world countries. We should not be contented of what we have now we must push through advancement to be competent enough with those modernized countries. It was also mentioned there about the BPO or Business Process Outsourcing. I am happy that our nation’s economy is moving towards this so called BPO. BPO helps our fellow Filipino to acquire jobs not only here but also abroad and because of this many of the unemployed people and fresh graduates can grab this opportunity to earn money to provide for their basic needs.

Telecommunication
“Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone.”

This line really caught my attention. The issue here is the loss of load unexpectedly and the expiration of loads. As a mobile phone user, I also encounter this problem. Since cellphones plays a very important role in the lifestyle of most Filipinos (rich or poor) and a means of communication nowadays cellphone load has already been part of the budget of the Filipinos as part of their expenses. We can’t deny the fact that when this problem occur the telecommunication networks are usually being blamed because they are the one distributing the cellphone loads. It’s a great thing that the government already found a way to prevent this issue. Now, the expiration of the loads has been extended. And I guess everyone of us can benefit from this. Though there are still instances of load loss but am glad that the government made an action.

Automated Election
“As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address the highest exercise of democracy, voting! In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.”

For the first time in the Philippine history, automated election will implemented this coming election in 2010. I would proudly say that this is just one step into a digital advancement. This development can greatly ease the work of the people in voting and counting the votes. And it is much easier to conduct that using a manual system. We are aware that in politics there are cheats and anomalies in election and I guess having this automated election can lessen those issues and can make the process of election faster and easier. I hope that this coming election in 2010 would be a successful one.

Visit my blog dgmancera.blogspot.com

On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of the President last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT and identify how these areas can improve our quality of life.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



1. Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.

-Cellular phones are important and it is part of our daily activities. This day, there are almost no different from telecommunication and Information Technology (IT) Field. Both of these fields collaborate to provide what we enjoy from our telecommunication operators. We can enjoy Short Message Service (SMS), Brew, internet, blackberry, Iphone, email, mobile blogging, and others telecommunication service because that collaboration. And it is not only for Value Added Service (VAS), this collaboration also do voice service as telecommunication core business.

2. Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.

-This day, there are almost no different from telecommunication and Information Technology (IT) Field. Both of these fields collaborate to provide what we enjoy from our telecommunication operators. We can enjoy Short Message Service (SMS), Brew, internet, blackberry, Iphone, email, mobile blogging, and others telecommunication service because that collaboration. And it is not only for Value Added Service (VAS), this collaboration also do voice service as telecommunication core business.

3. Automated Election

What is Automated Election Sytem(AES)?

* Computerized voting is a superior form of casting ballots. It allows for fairer and faster voting. It takes many forms with different processes but how it is implemented depends on the technological facilities allocated for the elections procedure. Automated election system (AES) is a system that uses appropriate technology to accomplish and aid such tasks as voting, counting, consolidating, canvassing, and transmission of election result, and other electoral process. Republic Act No. 9369, which is the Amended Elections Automation Law provides for the use of two forms of AES.


* The voters have to shade the oval which corresponds to their candidate of choice using pencil in a specially scanned paper ballot. It is composed of 2 Laptops, 2 Digital Scanners, 2 card readers, 1 hub and 1 printer. The votes in the shaded ballots will then be scanned and counted using an Automated Counting Machine (ACM).


* The first is a paper-based election system defined as “a type of automated election system that uses paper ballots, records and counts votes, tabulates, consolidates, canvasses and transmits electronically the results of the vote count.” It uses the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) Technology.


* The second form is the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE). It is defined as “a type of automated election system that uses electronic ballots, records votes by means of a ballot display provided with mechanical or electro-optical components that can be activated by the voter, processes data by means of a computer program, records voting data and ballot images, and transmits voting results electronically.” voters are provided with a Voting Pad where the photos of candidates can be selected by pressing on the desired picture. Once the vote is final, a receipt is generated after pressing ‘BOTO‘. The Board of Election Inspectors keeps the receipt just in case there are complaints raised.

It is feasible. An automated election, for a fact, cannot fully prevent cheating but only certain forms of it could be prevented through check and balance. It is also a fact that there is no system that is tamper proof. The following are plausible forms of check and balance: paper audit trail of ballots, protection of software source code, no switching of ballot boxes, the testing of the technologies, and the addition of some amendments on the Senate Bill No. 2231. The Automated Election Bill in the Philippines requires that there should be a voter verifiable paper audit trail. This feature of the bill will reduce the incidents of vote buying and increase the security and credibility of the people’s votes. The voter verifiable audit trail enables the voters to review and edit their votes. On the same note the right amount of protection on the automated elections' software source code would prevent hackers on hacking on to the computers for counting and thus prevents the tampering on the number of votes.

http://iskwiki.upd.edu.ph/index.php/Online/Automated_Elections_in_the_Philippines

Business Process Outsourcing

The Administration would like to use IS and IT on it’s future plan, built the regulatory infrastructure that enabled the Services Sector particularly the Philippine Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, to become one of the main economic growth drivers of the Philippines. The growth in the BPO also improved the country’s Balance of Payments (BOP) and investments.

This is very nice because the Philippine Economy will grow faster, but is this possible if almost all of our leaders in the National and Local Level will keep on getting money from the people?

Cyber Corridor


The Cyber Corridor, which aims to create an information and technology-based knowledge economy through facilities that enhance interconnectivity and research and development initiatives, traverses all four geographic super regions from Baguio to Cebu to Davao.

This will have a great impact to the ICT business because this will give positive effects on the ICT industry.

Education for all


Education in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another through institutions.

This will help a lot especially to less fortunate people.

Investment and Trade

Investment. The investment climate created by the Arroyo Administration’s fiscal consolidation and establishment of strong macroeconomic fundamentals continued to support investment inflows in the country.

In 2001, the institution of the Investments Relations Office (IRO) under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) developed and improved a coordinated approach to the dissemination of timely and comprehensive economic information for the use of analysts and investors in making investment recommendations and decisions.

Additionally, the Administration’s policy to simplify investment registration procedures, such as the establishment of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Centers (NERBACs), helped improve investment transactions in the country. From 2007 to May 2009, fifteen (15) NERBACs were established nationwide to facilitate investment promotion in the regions and assist Investment Promotion Units (IPUs). It also enhanced the system of linkages and networking between and among government agencies in tackling investment-related issues and concerns affecting foreign and local investors in the Philippines, among others.
As a crucial component to improve industry competitiveness and reduce cost of doing business, investors’ concerns on modernizing infrastructure facilities in the country were addressed by prioritizing projects in the construction and rehabilitation of toll roads (e.g. Daang Hari-SLEX Link Road Project), expressways, among others.

Cyber Corridor

The Cyber Corridor, which aims to create an information and technology-based knowledge economy through facilities that enhance interconnectivity and research and development initiatives, traverses all four geographic super regions from Baguio to Cebu to Davao.
The Cyber Corridor is being developed through public and private investments in the areas of ICT, education, and training.
The pilot-testing of a major ICT project, the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) Revenue Watch Dashboard prototype system, was completed in May 2009. This web-enabled revenue monitoring tool aims to provide real time collection figures from the national level down to the Revenue District Office level.

Aside from the priority infrastructure projects in the Cyber Corridor, the Government also pursued other Information and Communication Technology-related projects that supported the development theme of the Cyber Corridor. The Government has established public calling stations, telecenters and community e-centers to address the uneven distribution of fixed telephone lines in the regions.
By 2008, the Administration has installed facilities to areas without communication channels yet, such as 875 telegraph stations for telegraphic transfer and social telegram; digital telephone exchanges in 103 localities; 538 public calling stations which serves people who cannot afford to subscribe telephone services and areas not covered by fixed line facilities; 1,422 Telepono sa Barangay (TSB) stations; and a Regional Government Telephone Service in Cauayan, Isabela.

Cyber Corridor is one of the Administration’s priority projects in which under the super regional development strategy of the Administration. This aimed at linking up the nation’s countryside with its growth centers through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the knowledge economy.

The Administration has been harnessing information and communications technology through the Cyber Corridor to promote e-governance to simplify and expedite transaction of frontline services.

BOI-PEZA Approved Investments
(Board of Investments-Philippine Economic Zone Authority)

• Investments approved by the Board of Investments-Philippine-Export Zone Authority (BOI-PEZA) grew almost three-fold from PhP182.84 billion in 2001 PhP443.15 billion in 2008. Some of the top investors from 2001 to 2008 include GN Power Ltd. Co., Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd., Globe Telecom, Emerald Energy Corporation, PNOC Petrochemical Development, JG Summit, Smart Communications Inc., Global Business Power Corp., Cebu Air, and Texas Instruments Philippines. The Manufacturing Sector remained to be the leading source of employment opportunities.



• The telecommunications industry gained momentum in 2001 when telecom giants such as Globe Telecom, Smart Communications and Digitel Communications poured in their investments which ventured towards Short Message Service (SMS) or commonly known as text messaging.


• In 2007, Texas Instruments (TI), considered as the world’s biggest mobile chip maker, invested US$1 billion worth of expansion project in the country. Described as one of the single biggest investments in the Philippine’s economic history, this gave signal that the country had found its niche as one of the best investment destinations in Asia.


• The continued expansion of the services sector is largely due to the rising investments in the call/contact centers and business process outsourcing (BPO) particularly in the areas of Software Development, Animation, Medical Transcription, and outsourcing services in Human Resources, Customer Service and Procurement, among others.

• From four (4) call centers operations with 2,400 employees in 2000, the industry remarkably grew in 2008 to 191 call centers in major areas in the country, generating 227,000 in local employment. Top contact centers in the country include Sykes, Convergys, Ambergis, and People Support. Moreover, companies that have set-up internal BPO operations in the country include HSBC, AIG Business Processing Services, Chevron Texaco, Procter and Gamble Asia Pt. Ltd., Shell Services, among others.

• Being significant drivers to growth and employment, the BPO and information technology-enabled services (ITES) sectors were prioritized in the government’s Investment Priorities Plan (IPP). Under the IPP, investors enjoy fiscal incentives such as income-tax holidays, exemption from taxes and duties on spare parts, among others.

The government also provided non-fiscal incentives to ICT investors, which include employment of foreign nationals in supervisory, technical, or advisory positions; simplified customs procedures; and, duty-free importation of consigned equipment.

“Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.”

This area helps every Filipino financially since the issue speaks about lost subscriber’s load. Though not all Filipinos own a phone, it is important to get a fair service of what you are paying.

“Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. “

This area improves our lives by providing employment to many Filipinos and contributing to our country’s income which in turn, will be used to fund some infrastructures needed to improve our daily lives.

“Let us have a Department of ICT.”

This area brings hope especially to us since having an ICT department brings more jobs and answers problems regarding information and communication.


http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090727-217493/2009-State-of-the-Nation-Address

“Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by
developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and
other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world
economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of
600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and
productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.”

By developing BPO sectors, many of the Filipinos will have jobs because of job opportunities in the BPO sector. This will really be a big help to the Filipinos because they will have a good living and if many Filipinos will have jobs, there will be no poverty here in our country.

“In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.”

It is really a big change from manual to automated elections. Counting of votes will be easy and will be very efficient. But despite of the fact that it is efficient and easy, there will be also disadvantages, especially if some machines will fail to process the ballots, unless the government will make sure that all the machines will process correctly.

“Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na
kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa
cellphone. “

Because of this, we will not have any problems anymore with our cellphone loads and we can communicate with other people with less worries.

On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of the President last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT and identify how these areas can improve our quality of life.


I have here what I consider areas that are related to ICT during the President’s SONA last July 2009.

Quote 1: The Telecommunications Sector

“Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.”

I suppose majority of Filipino people are interested about this. Because visibly, Filipinos are avid mobile phone user I would say. Thus, making the telecommunication agencies benefit the most. Furthermore, issues like drop calls, stolen loads (as people term it) and complaints are dominant. So I was glad that the administration has finally addressed this problem by commanding the Telecommunications Commission to decipher this problem and make solutions. Thank you that recently, Telecommunication Commission found an alternative solution- the extension of load expiration. Not mentioned above, but this is one of the hassles that we, users, complain about. This is a great help especially to those who use their load for emergencies only (less worry about losing the load for nothing and benefiting from it).

PS: I do not believe that this will cause a great lose to the telecommunications industry. Business is business… I know they will still generate profit from it. ^_^

Quote 2: The BPO

“In the past if the electronics sector grew, today we’re creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall with the state of the world economy but BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity… Let us have a Department of ICT.”- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

We were aware that Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) nowadays bloomed to the extent that even crisis did not impede it. President Arroyo’s decision to have an ICT Department is a great help to the Philippine Economy. This does give opportunity to many Filipinos. I have read that the recent growth in the outsourcing industry in the Philippines has been fueled not by traditional low-value-added call centers but more higher-end outsourcing such as legal services, web design, medical transcription, software development, animation, and shared services. President Arroyo’s decision to have this Department of ICT is a great step towards the development and promotion of BPO- Philippines. If properly implemented, managed and developed, this will be an economic wealth growth that Filipinos will benefit the most.

Below is an excerpt from a site that states why many clients outsource in the Philippines.

“The Philippines has now stepped out of India’s shadow to become a competitive KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) destination. The latest growth spurt in the Philippines’ outsourcing industry doesn’t just come from a mushrooming number of call centers but also from higher-end services such as web development, software development, legal services, medical transcription, animation and other services. When you choose to outsource I.T. to the Philippines, you reduce and control your operating costs, gain access to world-class capabilities and maximize your productivity.” [www.outsourceit2philippines.html]


Quote 3: The 2010 Automated Election

“As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address the highest exercise of democracy, voting! In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.”

I was quietly interested way back those days that the automated election was just hearsay. In a one-dimensional thinking, I would say, because I am an IT student, that I would enjoy and benefit this type of election. Maybe I could volunteer myself as watcher or so whatever. But that was before.

I have read articles and forums about the coming 2010 elections. And I found lots of sentiments that I was not able to realize ahead of: fraud that may happen, illiterate ones may refrain from voting, some teachers are worrying about the extra income they may not have in an automated election, the expected huge power consumption during the Election event, etc. I hope these concerns are analyzed and considered by the administration.

But the decision is final! We will be having our 2010 automated election. Optimistically, this would create a big step towards technological advancement. By means of a system that uses appropriate technology for voting and electronic devices to count votes and canvass/consolidate with a potentially greater accuracy is what we’re expecting and hoping. The important is that we will be able to exercise our democracy, voting, in an election with less fraud.

References:
http://ikuwaderno.com/transcript-of-arroyos-sona-july-27-2009.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_on_Information_and_Communications_Technology_(Philippines)

"Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by
developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and
other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world
economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of
600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and
productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.”

-BPO (Business process outsourcing) with this more Filipinoes have the oppurtunity to have a good job and and increasing our competitiveness and productivity.


"Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now….”

- A dropped call pertains to an irregularly disconnected call. A call attempted but dropped before six seconds after the called party answers should not be considered a call. The agency noted that blocked and dropped calls were caused by network congestion and system failure. In amending the commonwealth-era Public Service Law, consumers will be grateful with this because it is advantage for us.


"As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address the highest exercise of democracy, voting! In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.”


-It provides efficient way for voting and fast and reliable results

On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of the President last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT
State of the Nation of the President Arroyo was informed people about the projects done of the president. She kept on saying that all nations fell the recession that some what unstoppable event of today but we have nothing to worry about cause we can still live by working hand on hand. For me, i cant fell nor see it that we are improving and moving forward. Problems live by decade is still unsolved like graft and corruption and poverty. She gave remarkable words against her critic that challenge them. Who should be challenged she or her critic? I challenge the administration to do something and solve the economic crisis that the country is facing today. I hope that all their promise will not be gone by a wind.

In regards to the Assignment about ICT and identify how these areas can improve our quality of life, the following are my answers:

1. BPO (Business process outsourcing) with this more Filipinos have the opportunity to have a good job and and increasing our competitiveness and productivity. Offshoring Market Experiencing Rapid Growth in the Philippines. Outsourcing contact center work to offshore destinations is experiencing a rapid growth phase with key delivery centers in India, Philippines and central and Eastern Europe experiencing annual growth in excess of 30%. Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is looking for a 40% growth in the country’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry for 2008.

Speaking at the e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition, Arroyo said while the Philippines currently employ 300,000 people in the BPO and contact center industry, she wants these increased by at least 40% to meet the growing demand worldwide. She said the Philippines at present is only second to India in terms of supplying the workforce in the BPO industry, but it has already been recognized as the “premiere global destination for these types of IT enabled services”. “We are proud of what we had achieved but we are anxious to solidify our gains. We’re anxious not to be complacent in the face of rapid change,” Arroyo said. “For 2008, we have targeted to grow our O & O (offshore and outsourcing) workforce by 40% in order to cope with the industry demands and also to achieve a 40% growth rate in the O & O sector.”

Philippines named 2nd top BPO destination in Asia-Pacific
February 13th, 2008

The City of Manila has been named the second top Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) destination in the Asia-Pacific region by the International Data Corporation (IDC), just three months after the Philippines was named as the ‘Offshoring Destination of the Year‘ by the United Kingdom’s National Outsourcing Association last October. Three other Philippine cities have been included by the London Financial Times in the survey of ‘Top Ten Asian Cities of the Future‘, thus validating the country’s position as a major player in the global offshoring and outsourcing (O&O) market. Quezon City ranked 7th, Cebu 8th and Davao 10th in the survey commissioned by the London Times, comparable with cities like Hongkong, Singapore and Taipei which were the top three.

President Gloria-Macapagal-Arroyo announced that her administration has targeted a 40% growth rate in the country’s O&O sector for this year and 40% growth target in the workforce “in order to cope with the industry demands”“These distinctions from the O&O sector and global ICT firms provide our investor friends, who have come to E-services Philippines, with objective third party assessments of our O&O capabilities,” the President stressed. According to the President, the runaway growth of the O&O industry has echoed throughout the entire system, spawning impressive growth on other sectors like real estate, telecommunications, food and retail among others.

Posted in BPO Philippines In the News, Outsourcing, Why Outsource to the Philippines? | No Comments »
Outsourced Blogging
June 11th, 2007

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) indusrty is booming in the Philippines. The most common BPO services here in the country are call centers, software development, transcription, encoding, animation, human resources, accounting and payroll outsourcing. BPO is implemented as a cost-saving measure for tasks that a company requires but does not depend upon to maintain its position in the marketplace.

There are also a lot of new BPO opportunities, aside from the most common BPO services mentioned above, that we, as Filipinos, can embark on. Outsourced writing is one. For a long time now, writing and editing works have been subcontracted to smaller institutions and writers which became known as Ghostwriting. Ghostwriting was revolutionized with the advent of the internet. New company websites, portals, forums and blogs are created every second. With that comes along the increased demand for content. You have to remember that Content is King.

Blogging is now commonly being outsourced. A lot of Filipino bloggers are now considered as probloggers as they have taken jobs in blogging in behalf of the companies/persons that hired them for their blogging service. Bloggerwave gives another option for bloggers. Bloggerwave will ask you for your valuable feedback to advertisers with respect to their web sites, products, services, and companies. The best part of this is that bloggers get paid! ;-)


Outsourcing Revives Philippine Real Estate
June 9th, 2007

Business Process Outsourcing, BPO involves the contracting of a task to a third-party provider. Services include call centers, financial management, software writing, medical and legal transcription of files and even animation. Philippine’s Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri says the Philippines expects such BPO functions to bring in $3 billion in revenues this year, with annual revenues of $10 billion in five years. Industry leaders have placed the Philippines just behind India as the ideal place for BPO investment, thanks to the country’s highly educated, western-oriented, English-speaking population. The government’s Board of Investments expects there will be more than 920,000 Filipinos working in BPO centers by 2010 as businesses expand and new investors come in.

Source: Manila Standard Today

Medical and Legal Transcription Fastest-Growing Philippine BPO Sector
June 8th, 2007

Medical and legal transcription posted the highest growth in revenue among all the sub-sectors in the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry at 97% in 2005. This was shown in the 2005 baseline study of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) on the economic contribution of information technology (IT)-enabled services in the country. BPO industry comprises contact or call centres, medical and legal transcription, animation, software and other BPOs that include management consultancy, hardware consultancy, data processing, financial and accounting services and engineering services.

The industry’s revenue in 2005 totaled to about P109.9 billion (US$2.4 billion), which is higher than year-ago’s P74.2 billion, the survey said. Among the sub-sectors, contact centers had the highest revenue share at 49.4 % or P54.3 billion followed by other BPOs, 29.3%, P32.2 billion; software development, 20%, P21.9 billion; animation, .9%, P939.1 million; and medical and legal transcription, .4%, P466.2 million. Medical transcription registered the highest annual growth at 97% followed by contact centers, 65%; software development, 40.8%; animation, 35.3%; and other BPOs, 30.5%. Read the rest of this entry »

Central Visayas economy upbeat in 1st quarter
June 7th, 2007

The central Visayas economy performed better for the first quarter this year compared to the same period in 2006 with the agriculture sector, shipping industry, tourism and ICT-related industries leading the growth.

According to the National Economic Development Authority in the region (NEDA-7), the economy of the region was buoyed by the high performance of the agriculture sector that posted a double-digit increase in production; the rosier performance of the shipping and air transportation sector couple with the continuing upward trend of the construction, tourism and IT-enabled industries in the Central Visayas area. Investments in the business process outsourcing (BPO) and call centers particularly in Cebu remained high in Q1 of 2007. A number of existing BPO companies expanded operations in the region in the first quarter among them Sykes-Cebu and Exist Global. With the very good economic performance of the region, inflation rate eased further to 2.5% in the first quarter from 4.2% in Q4 of 2006 and 7.0% in the first quarter of last year. NEDA-7 report said, this is the lowest recorded average year-on-year inflation rate for a quarter since base year for the consumer price index (CPI) was moved from 1994-2000.

Source: Philippine Information Agency

Philippines is Top Choice Among US Companies for Finance and BPO services
June 5th, 2007

Consul General Cecilia Rebong of the Philippine Consulate General in New York, USA reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that a capital markets analyst has said that the Philippines is the top choice among a growing number of major U.S. companies for finance, technology, telecommunications and consumer products, and accounting business process outsourcing (BPO) services.

Consul General Rebong said this was essentially the message of Ms. Cynthia Houlton, Senior Analyst of RBC Capital Markets, in speaking on “Global Sourcing and Finance and Accounting Business Process Outsourcing Services” during a well-attended business networking reception organized by the Business Process Outsourcing Council, the Philippine Consulate General, and the Philippine Trade Office in New York on 23 May 2007.Welcoming the guests who were mostly CEOs, presidents, and managers of major American financial, banking, and investment companies based in New York, Consul General Rebong said, “The reception is only our second offering since the creation of the Business Process Outsourcing Council one month ago, and the goal remains to be to facilitate dialogue, information, and greater understanding of the Philippines Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector among potential global partners.”

The Philippines was selected because of the country’s advantages over alternative Asian sites: Labor costs equivalent to China; lower and more stable than India; prevalence of spoken American English; cultural and social affinity with the US; modern and stable infrastructure such as water, power, roads, telecommunications; large pool of qualified college graduates seeking white-collar employment; access to specialized skills aligned with US professional standards; government support and tax breaks for the industry; and more familiar environment for expatriate trainers and managers than other Asian alternatives.

“The ‘advantages’ clearly show that the Philippines’ attractiveness as a BPO destination is no longer limited to cost-reduction but also to being able to provide global partners with a human resource possessing the right skill sets and competencies supported by a sophisticated telecommunications infrastructure,” Consul General Rebong observed.

Source: DavaoToday

Posted in BPO Philippines In the News, Why Outsource to the Philippines? | 1 Comment »
Asia-Pacific Business Process Outsourcing Market to Expand 16%
June 4th, 2007

The Asia-Pacific’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market is expected to be worth 8.3 billion US dollars by the end of this year compared to 7 billion a year earlier, research agency IDC said on Monday. The market is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 16% until 2011 to reach 14.8 billion US dollars, IDC added.

“We can essentially view the BPO market in the region as eithermatured or developing, and within that, English-speaking or non English speaking, each with its unique needs and characteristics,” The Business Times quoted Conrad Chang, IDC Asia-Pacific research manager as saying. BPO end-users are demanding solutions that address their particular needs, Chang said. “Cookie-cutter approaches will not work in addressing region-specific issues.”

The research agency defines BPO as distinct from normal processing services. Outsourcing services such as checks, credit cards and bill processing are not considered to be BPO activities. IDC regards BPO as more strategic in nature and involving transformational activities that align a company’s outsourcing engagements to corporate objectives.

REFERENCE: http://bpo.box.com.ph/

2. The Telecommunications Sector

“Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.”

About Cellular Companies in the Philippines. There are six cellular mobile telephone operators in the Philippines. These include Digitel, Extelcom, Globe, Islacom, Piltel and Smart.

As of year 2004, there are already 32,935,875 cellular phone subscribers in the Philippines. SMART, the mobile communication company of PLDT, has the most number of subscribers of 14,595,782, followed by Globe Telecoms, 12,513,973. Sun Cellular which is operated by DIGITEL and started in mobile communication services in 2003, has a total subscribers of 1,200,000.


Based on the daily living of Filipino cellular phones is very important to everyone of us. As we wake up were looking first the messages sent by use the answered calls. It is undeniable that even young ages are very fun that lead to addiction the used of cellular phones. Having an amendment about the losing of loads because of the advertisement that sent on the users and dropped calls. It is favorable to the cellphone users it will be imposed and very helpful to all.

References:
www.ntc.gov.ph

3. Automated Election

The 2010 Automated Election

“As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address the highest exercise of democracy, voting! In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.”

It’s full speed ahead for the computerized general elections on May 10, 2010, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Jose Melo said. nstead of writing on ballots, voters will shade the spaces allotted for the names of candidates. The ballots will then be inserted into the optical machine readers to be placed in clustered precincts all over the country. Melo said the Comelec would pursue the nationwide automation of elections, despite opposition and skepticism from certain lawmakers and information technology professionals.

Afraid of cheating? Cheating every election is never been new to us, but still no change been done. Using this Automated Machine I'm looking forward that it will lessen the cheating this time. Who knows it is what we all been looking for. Take a chance for a change but if still cheating be more in seen this time, that only proves that Filipino were really good cheater it matters not it is done technically or manually.

If I were hired by the University President as an IT consultant, I would rather suggest Infrastructure in order for internet connectivity be improved.

An IT consultant works in partnership with clients, advising them how to use information technology in order to meet their business objectives or overcome problems. Consultants work to improve the structure and efficiency and of an organsiation's IT systems.
IT consultants may be involved in a variety of activities, including marketing, project management, client relationship management and systems development.
They may also be responsible for user training and feedback. In many companies, these tasks will be carried out by an IT project team. IT consultants are increasingly involved in sales and business development, as well as technical duties.

In information technology and on the Internet, infrastructure is the physical hardware used to interconnect computers and users. Infrastructure includes the transmission media, including telephone lines, cable television lines, and satellites and antennas, and also the routers, aggregators, repeaters, and other devices that control transmission paths. Infrastructure also includes the software used to send, receive, and manage the signals that are transmitted.
In some usages, infrastructure refers to interconnecting hardware and software and not to computers and other devices that are interconnected. However, to some information technology users, infrastructure is viewed as everything that supports the flow and processing of information.
Infrastructure companies play a significant part in evolving the Internet, both in terms of where the interconnections are placed and made accessible and in terms of how much information can be carried how quickly.
Standardization of an infrastructure is seldom a straightforward process, local adaptations of the global standard are often necessary in order to make the standard viable. These adaptations can be seen as divergences from the standard and need to be managed in order to avoid disorder within the IT infrastructure. The existing literature does not go in to detail regarding divergences; it focuses mainly on the phenomenon of drift. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to increase the understanding of divergences and how they can be managed. Our research questions are; “how can the divergences from a standard be described?” and “how can divergences from a standard be managed?”. The findings of this thesis are of interest for both academia and practice in order to better understand divergences. Two opposing views of infrastructures and standardization are presented; one emphasizes the need for control and the other focuses on the phenomena of drift. By using both these views together with the results from interviews held with managers at Volvo Group we define the dimensions of divergences. We describe five dimensions that are necessary to understand; type, underlying causes, time of creation, context and effects. We also present a process model, containing four stages, for managing divergences in a structured way. The first stage concerns the detection of either existing or anticipated divergences. In the second stage the aim is to understand the divergence based on the five dimensions presented above. In the third stage a decision to permit, adapt or remove the divergence is made. The last stage focuses on communicating the decision made in the third stage across the organization.



Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Technology_Infrastructure_Library
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/it_consultant_job_description.jsp
http://www.essays.se/essay/84bb816767/


Visit my blog:
http://prettypriti-pretty.blogspot.com/

"Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.

Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT."

These were the lines of Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo utter in the SONA last July 2009. These good Impacts to ICT has brought great oppotunities to Filipinos.

President Arroyo site 3 areas related to IT that has greatly help in the improvement of the quality of life of Filipinos.

First, President Arroyo urged Congress to inaugurate Department of Information and Communication Technology. This is good news. Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III, chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications, has long batted for the creation of a DICT.Under Executive Order 269, which created CICT, the Commission would not just be advisory in nature but will have a more active role in implementing the various ICT-related plans and policies of government. The Commission also handles government initiatives to development more IT proficient workers in the country, improvement of government IT services and bringing more Filipinos closer to technology.

EO 269 clearly notes that the CICT was formed to handle ICT policy while waiting for Congress to create a Department of Information and Communications Technology that would more effectively coordinate and implement national ICT programs. Through this implementation, more careers in IT are within reach.

Second, President Arroyo tasked Telecommunication Commission about Dropped Calls and lost Cellphone Loads.The National Telecommunications Commission must “do more” than extend the expiry of prepaid load to decisively end the issue of “vanishing prepaid load” that is bedeviling the country’s more than 70 million mobile phone subscribers.

According to TXTPower(consumer advocacy group TXTPower.org Inc.), the NTC should compel telcos to finally offer “unlimited calls” and “unlimited texting” as permanent, not promotional, offers.

Third,The President also requested for the amendments of the Commonwealth-era public Service Law. The President also urged Congress to pass the Philippine Transport Security Authority Law, immediate amendments to the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law, and the creation of a Department of Information and Communications Technology to better serve the $6-billion business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry that currently employs 600,000 Filipinos.

The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) is the umbrella organization for the fastest-growing industry in the Philippines: offshoring and outsourcing (O&O). BPAP serves as the one-stop information and advocacy gateway for the country's key O&O services sector and has over 200 company members, including 5 association members.

BPAP's thrust is to promote the competitive advantages and the growth potential of the Philippines in existing and new areas of outsourcing and supports the industry in areas such as offshore marketing, education and training, security and privacy, legislation and public policy, among others. It aims to create a supportive environment for the Philippine O&O industry and strengthen the Philippine case to be the preferred O&O destination by the end of the decade.


Given the excess global demand for O&O resources and the attractiveness of the resources the Philippines has to offer, BPAP believes it is possible for the Philippines to increase its share of the global O&O market from 5 percent in 2006 to 10 percent in 2010. This will mean the Philippine O&O industry will earn revenues of about USD13 billion and directly employ close to one million people by the end of 2010.

The Philippine O&O industry has grown rapidly because it has the ingredients critical to O&O service providers and customers:

* large-scale people resources, with close to half-a-million English-speaking students graduating from college yearly;
* quality, with a well-deserved reputation for excellence in communication skills, interpersonal warmth, customer-service orientation, problem-solving abilities, and cultural affinity with Western markets and customs;
* an operational cost advantage, with costs competitive with any supplier country in the world, including India;
* infrastructure, with world-class telecommunication networks and BPO workplace facilities; and
* financial incentives, with highly competitive investment packages for information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services investors, whether third-party services providers or captive regional shared services centers.

The three citations has great impacts.all has a say on the improvement of the quality of life of every Filipinos. Thus, formulating laws are important to impose important concerns like this. The SONA indicates achievements and future plans... ICt is a blooming industry. A helping hand of nation's progress. May magagawa kung kikilos.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/technology/07/27/09/arroyo-oks-creation-ict-department
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/07/27/09/gma-pushes-new-sin-taxes
http://bpap.org/bpap/index.asp?welcome2
http://www.txtpower.org/2009/07/to-solve-vanishing-load-scam-ntc-must-lower-rates-ban-spam-txtpower/

Gloria Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address 2006 is packed full of promises once again. One worth noting is her take on the information and communications technology (ICT) as far as the Philippine development is concerned, to with:

We will enhance the competitive advantage of the natural “super regions-” of-the-Philippines: the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, the Metro Luzon Urban Beltway, Central Philippines, Mindanao and the Cyber Corridor.

The Cyber Corridor will boost telecommunications, technology and education. The corridor runs the length of all the super regions, from Baguio to Cebu to Davao. The cities of Davao, Tagum and Samal Island Garden all operate electronic government accounting systems. There are many wings now to the corridor because enterprising local executives like L-Ray Villafuerte and Jerry Trenas have aggressively attracted call centers to their jurisdictions (Congratulations, Jerry) In this corridor, the English and information and communication technology skills of the youth give them a competitive edge in call centers and other business process outsourcing.

In 2001, in this hall, we hailed ICT as a key growth sector. So we built up telecommunications infrastructure and opened the market for Internet phone calls. Today international calls cost 6 cents a minute, down from 40 cents. From 2,000 BPO workers in 2001, we now have 200,000.

A neo-liberal economist herself, Arroyo sees the Philippines as host to foreign companies wanting to outsource their core business processes like human resource, finance and administration. Thus, her passion to scale up the country’s telecommunications infrastructure and establish more and more call centers.

The CICT has found a fresh mandate from this announcement by Arroyo. CICT Chair Ramon Sales has been named as champion of the Cyberservices Corridor.

According to CICT’s web site, the CICT will “continue to pursue a breakthrough value proposition for the ICT industry.” The CICT “takes the lead in addressing the need to develop competencies English, enhance skills in ICT among others, in the areas covered by the Corridor.”

Located primarily in cities and provinces having strategic ICT plans, the cyberservices corridor project has three tiers, namely:

1. First tier: Metro Manila, Sta. Rosa, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao.
2. Second tier: Baguio, Poro Point, Dagupan, Tarlac, Batangas, Lipa, Legazpi City, Naga,Tacloban, Iloilo, Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, and Gen. Santos City.
3. Third tier: Cabanatuan, Tuguegarao, Tagbilaran, Puerto Princesa, Iligan, and Zamboanga.

Now, the cyber corridor craze leaves me with several worries. First, relating telecommunications and technology to education puts our youth in great danger. This is because secondary and tertiary schools, public or private, may be encouraged, if not coerced, to give premium to curricula in English and ICT, thereby putting other stuff like the arts and sports in the backburner.

Second, the fight for open standards will be tougher as proprietary-standards entities will surely figure in to win concessions from government. I’m sure that Microsoft, for one, has already salivated.

Third, because of the foregoing, the digital divide will grow much wider. Government will emphasize computerization over other forms of communication and education.

These worries pose a tough challenge of continuously engaging the CICT like pressuring the agency not to go against the principles of its ICT Roadmap (not yet final, though) and not to backslide from initial gains like the open standards policy in the National Computer Center and gradual adoption of free and open source software (FOSS) in public schools.


It is good to worry and thus be alert on all ICT plans being prepared by the government, even if they are all “promises” meant for diverting funds elsewhere. Yes, being watchdogs on that ICT Roadmap is important – at the same time doing what we can outside of the state to empower ourselves and our communities to make intelligent decisions, to get involved and to question.


“Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.”



The Philippines' National Telecommunications Commission (Filipino: Pambansang Komisyon sa Telekomunikasyon), abbreviated as NTC, is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Transportation and Communications responsible for supervising, adjudicating and controlling over all telecommunications services throughout the Philippines. It is a regulatory agency providing an environment that ensures reliable, affordable and viable infrastructure and services in information and communications technology (ICT) accessible to all.

In addition, as what I have research, the NTC now had issued already a circular regarding on the ‘dropped calls’. They issued stricter rules on the drop-call rate of the telecommunication companies, or telcos, in a bid to protect consumers. The regulator’s move comes after complaints by the Senate leadership about vanishing mobile-phone loads or credits.

*In a Memorandum Order 03-06-2009, the regulator said the drop-call rate for telcos should be improved to 2 percent, or two dropped calls for every 100 calls, from 5 percent.

A dropped call pertains to an irregularly disconnected call. A call attempted but dropped before six seconds after the called party answers should not be considered a call. The agency noted that blocked and dropped calls were caused by network congestion and system failure.

On the other hand, regarding on spam messages, to resolve complaints on spam, the commission also issued a draft circular amending the rules on the broadcasting messaging service. Spam are unsolicited and unwanted messages, which can be commercial offerings, promotions, advertisements and surveys.

*The new circular said that push messages should not be allowed, adding that “subscriptions or requests for contents and/or information shall be initiated by the subscribers.” That the commercial and promotional advertisements, surveys and other broadcast messages should be allowed only if prior consent from the subscribers was secured by the telco. It added that the mobile network operators should keep records of all requests for contents and information from subscribers for the delivery of the message for at least two months.

Records related to complaints filed by consumers should not be disposed until such complaints were finally resolved. Records of complaints should also be forwarded to the commission upon request.

Moreover, the agency also issued separate guidelines for the expiration of the load and pulse billing.

*Now, a P10 load is valid for only a day; for a P30 load, three days; for a P200 load, 30 days; and a P300 load, 60 days. The commission is also proposing a call rate of three seconds per pulse, from one minute charging, whether postpaid or prepaid. The call rate to a per-second basis of actual use would assure that there would be no charges on calls that are dropped because of poor quality service, network congestion and other causes that terminate calls within the first second of the call, the commission said.

Currently, telcos charge on per minute basis, costing P6.50 per call.

“For me, it is really important to resolve such an issues like that regarding on telecommunications because it is really in demand and important right now in our daily life. If before, this things we just call it only as our wants but now, it is already our needs because this time it is really now difficult to communicate with the other without it. And if we have a kind of problems like dropped calls or lost cellphone loads, then how can we use it? It will just become a worthless thing.”


2.“Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.”



Reference:
http://activism102.wordpress.com/2006/08/06/ict-in-arroyos-sona-cyber-corridor/

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made her 9th State Of The Nation Address (SONA) last July 27, 2009. I think this is the her State Of The Nation Address because this is her last term. Actually I did not watch the President’s 2009 State Of the Nation Address but I have read the full text of her SONA. In her SONA the President mention many things like Philippine’s economic plan, how the nation’s dept is decreasing and all of her achievements this last nine years. I think the State Of The Nation Address 2009 is what the ICT players awaits. Because the President mention many things associated with Information and Communications Technology.

Some of them are the following:

* Telecommunication load issue
* Creating government’s Information and Communications Technology sector
* Election Automation

The President talks about the telecommunication issue. This is a wake-up call for the telecommunications company here in the Philippines. “Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now….”. The Commonwealth-era Public Service Law is about Public Service Commission that has jurisdiction over all public services which, by definition, includes wireless communications systems. This is one of the things that affect Filipino’s everyday life. Like many Filipino, I also experience this kind of situation when your cell phone load disappears just like that. The telecommunication service provider really is the one to blame for this stolen load. Fortunately the government found a remedy for this problem. Now the expiry date of the cell phone load is being extended. Many Filipino will benefit from this.

The President also mentions the creation of the Information and Communications Technology sector of the government. “Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT….”. At last! The President made the urge to create the government’s ICT department. Actually based on what I have heard, the creation of the government’s ICT department was planned long before, but at least now that plan will be implemented. Even though Philippines is not very updated in terms of technology, we should strive hard to cope up with other countries in this field, and we should take advantage of its benefits. The government is developing BPO.

BPO is a form of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of a specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large segments of its supply chain. In the contemporary context, it is primarily used to refer to the outsourcing of services.

BPO is typically categorized into back office outsourcing - which includes internal business functions such as human resources or finance and accounting, and front office outsourcing - which includes customer-related services such as contact center services.

BPO that is contracted outside a company's country is called offshore outsourcing. BPO that is contracted to a company's neighboring (or nearby) country is called nearshore outsourcing.

Given the proximity of BPO to the information technology industry, it is also categorized as an information technology enabled service or ITES. Knowledge process outsourcing(KPO) and legal process outsourcing (LPO) are some of the sub-segments of business process outsourcing industry.

This will help many Filipinos find jobs here and abroad.

Next is the automated election. “As the process of fundamental political reform begins, let us address the highest exercise of democracy…voting! In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress…”. Making the election fully automated was planned since 2001. Have a fully automated election is not easy that’s why it takes many years to plan and finance the things to be done. But I think the plan on having an automated election will not be implemented because of many issues that the government is facing about this election automation. Although election automation might not be implemented, having an automated election will greatly lessen the election process and may also help lessen cheating.

On the assumption that you heard/read the SONA of the President last month, (July 2000), identify at least 3 areas related to ICT and identify how these areas can improve our quality of life.


Last July 27,2009 Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo’s SONA for 2009 was delivered at the joint session of the Congress of the Philippines. And the president cited areas that are related to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) . By the way, ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) is an umbrella term that covers all advanced technologies in manipulating and communicating information. The term is sometimes used in preference to information technology (IT), particularly on these two communities: education and government.

Here are some of the areas related to ICT that was stated by our President Arroyo during her SONA:

Telecommunications

“In telecommunications, I instructed the Telecommunications Commission to
act already on the complaints of dropped calls and disappearing loads in
cellphones. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law.
And we need to do it now.”

The main issue was on a sudden load deduction without service being availed or used by the user. This problem was quite a big deal for the people hence, almost all the Filipino has an access and on the use of mobile technology, although I don’t have one. As far as the development of this issue is concern, the congress had made the action to investigate this issue with the telecommunications company. To date, the bill was made into reality; it is clear then with Telecommunications Company and to the people how there services will cope up and respond to the trend of the issue.


BPO

“If in the past electronics flourished, today we are creating wealth by
developing the business process outsourcing (BPO) and tourism sectors as
additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise
and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains
resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO
phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity.”

The Arroyo Administration’s strategic foresight of using information technology to advantage early on, built the necessary physical and regulatory infrastructure that enabled the Services Sector particularly the Philippine Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, to become one of the main economic growth drivers of the country. The growth in the BPO also improved the country’s Balance of Payments (BOP) and investments.

One of the most important advantages of BPO is the way in which it helps to increase a company’s flexibility. However, several sources have different ways in which they perceive organizational flexibility. Therefore business process outsourcing enhances the flexibility of an organization in different ways.
Let us have a Department of Information and Communications Technology.


Creation of DICT

“Let us have a department of ICT (DICT)!”

Information and communications technology (ICT) is a big help to boost a country's overall competitiveness by improving the efficiency of production processes across sectors and industries, accelerating the growth of knowledge-based services, and empowering people to access unprecedented sources of information and markets,

The strategic importance of ICT to national development and competitiveness is undeniable. Through the establishment of DICT, and it further promote ICT in the country as a tool to create jobs, improve government services, and empower Filipinos.


References:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/168382/PRESIDENT-ARROYOS-NINTHSTATE-OF-THE-NATION-ADDRESS
http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2008/0603_angara1.asp
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/july/03/yehey/top_stories/20090703top8.html

BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) Philippines

"Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating
wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines
of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in
accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains
resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the
BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and
productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT…."


Business Process Outsourcing is one of the good aide for economic crises,
more jobs for Filipino peaple were awaiting,that means lesser jobless filipinos.
The Common BPO's were call centers.Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is looking for a 40% growth in the country’s Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry for 2008.

Speaking at the e-Services Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition, Arroyo said while the Philippines currently employ 300,000 people in the BPO and contact center industry, she wants these increased by at least 40% to meet the growing demand worldwide. She said the Philippines at present is only second to India in terms of supplying the workforce in the BPO industry, but it has already been recognized as the “premiere global destination for these types of IT enabled services”.



Cyber Corridor


"The Cyber Corridor, which aims to create an information and technology-based knowledge economy through facilities that enhance interconnectivity and research and development initiatives, traverses all four geographic super regions from Baguio to Cebu to Davao"

Cyber Corridor was said to be the backbone of the Bpo Industry in the Philippines. The Cyber Corridor is an information and communication technology (ICT) channel running the length of the Philippines that interconnects BPO services centers all over the country to efficiently bring together cyberservices providers and BPO locators. The project’s development theme is ICT and knowledge economy with cyberservices encompassing call center, back office operations, medical and legal transcription, online marketing, software development, e-learning, e-entertainment, gaming, engineering design and animation. A $10 billion digital network and high-bandwidth fiber backbone supports the infrastructure which is overseen by the appointed Chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), also known as the “development champion.”

The goal is to employ one million workers and generate $13 billion dollars in annual revenues by 2010. With Metro Manila as the center of the Philippine BPO industry, the Cyber Corridor includes twenty-five “Next Wave Cities.” These cities are tagged as such because they’re considered viable locations for BPO operations. Clark Freeport Zone and Subic Bay Freeport Zone in the north, Cebu City and Bacolod City in the Central Philippines, and Davao City and Cagayan de Oro City in the south are some of the BPO locations on the list.


TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

"Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications
Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga
nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era
Public Service Law. And we need to do it now…."

The country ranks as one of the top users of telecommunication devices such as cellular phones, but the telecommunications commision were bombarded with complains of missing loads and unjust drop calls.
almost everyone has their own cellular phone, it would be great if that would be fixed.