Zambales municipalities sign e-governance 'covenant'

The participating municipalities include Masinloc, Botolan, San Antonio, and San Marcelino in Zambales. The covenant was signed last week at the Subic Exhibition and Convention Center in Subic Freeport Zone, Zambales

Thirty-one municipalities have signed a covenant indicating their commitment to help each other implement e-governance, a representative of a Canadian International Development Agency-funded project said.

As a result of the "E-governance for Municipal Development (eGov4MD)" project, municipal officials have agreed to share skills and resources in the development of e-governance systems.

They have also agreed to pool finances to build a community of technical professionals who will assist local government units in implementing e-governance projects.

Robert Sagun, eGovernance project officer of the Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO) Philippine Branch, said that an agreement will be signed next month to deploy an electronic real property tax system to these 31 municipalities.

The participating municipalities include Binalonan, Calasiao and Rosales in Pangasinan; Aliaga and Talavera in Nueva Ecija; Capas and Paniqui in Tarlac; Minalin, Lubao, Masantol, San Simon, Magalang, and Guagua in Pampanga; Masinloc, Botolan, San Antonio, and San Marcelino in Zambales; Orion and Dinalupihan in Bataan; San Mateo in Rizal; Imus, Carmona, Gen. Mariano, and Gen. Trias in Cavite; Tiaong, Pagbilao, Mauban, Lucban, Atimonan, Catanauan, and Calauag in Quezon.

The municipalities have also agreed to support the activities of eGov4MD, Inc., a newly established non-profit association of municipal staff engaged in e-governance.

The covenant was part of a flagship program of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, Mayors Development Center, the CESO, the National Computer Center, and the Commission on Information and Communications Technology.

The covenant was signed last week at the Subic Exhibition and Convention Center in Subic Freeport Zone, Zambales. By Erwin Oliva - INQUIRER.net

CICT aims for more BPO hubs by 2010

Following are the 20 cities or areas identified by the CICT as ideal for BPO investors: Metro Manila, Baguio, Cebu, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Bohol, Clark, Sta. Rosa, Lipa, Legazpi, Naga, Rizal, Bacolod, Cabanatuan, Dagupan, Subic, Cavite and Tacloban.

By Lawrence Casiraya - INQUIRER.net

The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) aims to certify at least 30 outsourcing "hubs" by 2010, according to its chairman, Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III.

Under the government's Cyberservices Corridor project, the CICT has assessed and identified 20 key cities or areas ideal for BPO investors based on the supply of workers, real estate, telecommunications infrastructure, among other criteria.

"We are working closely towards that goal and we are encouraging investors to look outside of Metro Manila," Roxas-Chua said in a briefing Monday by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP).

According to BPAP, about 80 percent of outsourcing activity in the country right now is within Metro Manila. BPAP's goal is likewise to identify the "next wave cities" to accomodate foreign investors and generate some 600,000 more jobs in the next three years.

Aside from Metro Manila, BPO firms have either located or expanded their operations in cities like Cebu and Baguio. Over the last few years, other cities like Davao, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Dagupan and Bacolod have attracted investments.

The following are the 20 cities or areas identified by the CICT as ideal for BPO investors: Metro Manila, Baguio, Cebu, Davao, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Bohol, Clark, Sta. Rosa, Lipa, Legazpi, Naga, Rizal, Bacolod, Cabanatuan, Dagupan, Subic, Cavite and Tacloban.

The CICT is working with Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) regional offices and local government units in doing its assessment. "We would like to be the coordinating body for investors in need of government assistance," Roxas-Chua said.

Monchito Ibrahim, a consultant for the CICT working on this initiative, is confident the commission will achieve its goal of identifying 30 to 35 BPO hubs even before 2010.

"The response from LGUs and the local private sector is very good. They realize the employment potential the BPO industry can generate," he said