1. ICT FOR EVERYONE A PHILIPPINE PERSPECTIVE By: ATTY. GRACIANO L . SITCHON Executive Director, Telecommunications Office Commission on Information and Communications Technology REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Submitted to the ASEM Forum on ICT Research & Development Bandung, West Java Indonesia July 20-21, 2010

8. It continue to state that; “ As early of 2001, the industry was still in its infancy and only employed a total of 2,400 workers. Today, the country is widely recognized as the top alternating destination for BPO services next to India. The industry which now includes call centers, back office operations, software developments, medical and legal transcription, engineering, design, animation and game development, has grown to US. Dollar 7.2 billion industry employing a total of 442,164 workers as of 2009. The industry is expected to grow an additional 26% in 2010 to US. Dollar 9.1 billion.

12. VI. Some of the RP’s Pet ICT Initiatives ICT for Economic Development, as a program, serves also as a cover for more specific projects, as follows; Current: ICT for Health – Funded this year with P100M budget with a yearly increase of P50M. ICT for Education – P50M this year with a yearly increase of P50M ICT for Agriculture – P30M this year with a yearly increase of P30M ICT for Energy – P5M this year with a yearly increase of P5M ICT for Environment -P5M this year with a yearly increase of P5M

13. Other Related ICT Research – Related Projects Ubiquitous/Pervasive Computing – P20M this year with a yearly increase of P20M Human-Machine Interaction – P10M this year with a yearly increase of P10M Computational Systems & Services – P5M this year with a yearly increase of P5M Digital Media, Creature Contact Service Management – P10M this year with a yearly increase of P10M. Web Science – P5M this year with a yearly increase of P5M Foundation of Computer Science – P3M this year with a yearly increase of P3M

18. IX. Final Statement : A CAVEAT It maybe safe to assume that all government administrators are striving to provide all the necessary mechanism to make life competitive through the powers of ICT. While in stride, it is also imperative that the entire citizenry should be able to support the programs by exerting efforts in facing head-on the challenges of rising ICT as a tool of development. As we know, ICT is as much a tool and business in itself. The challenge for every administrator is to balance the utility value of ICT to benefit making. We see ASEM in a position to mediate and probably impose it clout, to make the difference among its members.

19. Thank You Very Much!