Thinking Beyond Politics

By Victor Andres C. Manhit

In the recent Technology and Innovation Summit entitled, “Innovative

Philippines: Transforming Barriers to Productivity, Transparency and
Inclusive Growth,” organized by the Stratbase Group, thought leaders
from government, and the information and communications
technology (ICT) sector came together to discuss the challenges
faced by the industry, as well as the policy directions and strategies
to cope with and succeed in the changing landscape of the digital
economy.

Department of Information Communication and Technology (DICT)

Secretary Gregorio Honasan cited the need to adopt a strategically
developmental and competitive approach in the expansion of ICT in
the Philippines and veer away from the traditional mindset limited by
short “political” timelines.

Mr. Honasan wants the government to adopt a policy direction that

maximizes the benefits of available information, communications, and
technology solutions to cut through paper-based, multi-layered
bureaucracy that has unnecessarily burdened our people who are
just trying to make a living.
The new leadership of Mr. Honasan promises to institute very
strategic policy reforms that will be more compatible with the pace of
technological innovations and immune to short political cycle
disruption. The inclusive connectivity now being prioritized under his
leadership will be a game changing achievement that will benefit all
sectors of Philippine society.

This year, the Global Innovation Index puts the country’s

performance at 54th out of the 129 countries. Yes, there is a
significant jump in the global ranking. But the Philippines still lags
behind other ASEAN neighbors such as Singapore (8th), Malaysia
(35th), Vietnam (42nd), and Thailand (43rd).

With the growing number of users of the internet, mobile phones, and
social media in the Philippines, there is a need to complement this
phenomenon with a conducive policy and business environment that
can optimize productivity and increase competitiveness.

The challenges and requirements of a growing and dynamic global

digital economy are enormous. It entails strong political will and a
paradigm shift to allow more private sector participation and higher
investment to ensure faster, cheaper, and more secure connectivity.

We need to make every Filipino ready not just to cope with the
challenges but also succeed in the 4th Industrial Revolution.
During the Summit, the stakeholders agree with the DICT’s position
that a national broadband backbone is critical to our ICT
transformation. It will deliver a fast internet connection to 104,000
access points all over the country. This is envisioned to give free Wi-
Fi services to about 25 million users in un-served areas of the
country.

We welcome the plan of the DICT to activate approximately 111

nodes using NGP’s spare fiber to cascade capacity to identified
growth areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao as well as its plan to
build at least 20 cable landing stations with more than a thousand
kilometers of submarine cable laid out to bring in more links to the
international gateway.

But as we embrace the digital world and growing inter-connectivity,

we should also be equipped to protect our data privacy and counter
possible cybersecurity threats.
Raymund Liboro, Commissioner and Chairman of the National
Privacy Commission, cited the “hidden cost of interconnectivity,”
where we leave a trail of personal information whenever we access
any form of social media. Data power he said can be both helpful and
harmful to everyone if not properly managed and secured.

We also welcome the report of Mr. Liboro that the Philippines is

pushing for better digital governance, compliance, and leadership
concerning the country’s chairmanship in the recent ASEAN data
privacy forum.

We are hoping that the National Privacy Commission will be more

technology equipped and trained to fully implement the Data Privacy
Act. Through this, they can help address the proliferation of cyber
threats and crimes amid the digitalization activities of more
government and private agencies.

The abundance of human and talent resources in the Philippines

presents an under tapped national asset that is ripe for mobilization.
Building a vibrant ICT ecosystem, as envisioned by the DICT
leadership, requires less capital and infrastructure than hard
industries and can cater to a global market.

The government, business sector, and the academe must learn to

work in partnership through consultative venues that share
information, expertise, and best practices that would guide our policy
leaders to address impeding policy gaps and create an incentivized
regime that balances regulation, empowers innovative endeavors,
and boosts competitiveness.

Let us help strengthen a culture of innovation in our country not just

to help our businesses grow but to uplift the lives of the Filipinos.

In the end, we look forward to how the private and government

sectors will strengthen the partnership and transcend physical and
industry boundaries to build on the momentum of growth and harness
digital innovations that will promote the inclusive growth of all
Filipinos.

Prof. Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit is the President of the

Stratbase ADR Institute and Founder and Managing Director of the
Stratbase Group.