Task Force: ICT

On 3 November 2006, the Davao City mayor’s office issued an executive order constituting an information and communications technology task force. Executive Order No. 16 is an offshoot of the proposal by Councilor Pilar Braga to create the ICT Task Force, which is now mandated to create a road map of the city’s I.T. industry. That is, to provide the local government unit with a much-needed development plan.

With the sudden increase in I.T. investments in Davao, the city government has finally adopted a more serious stance vis-à-vis the I.T. industry. In the past, Davao’s elected officials merely paid lip service to the wonders of information technology — having used the word “wonder” makes it rather clear that the government wasn’t yet all that clued-up, doesn’t it? While EO16 deserves our gratitude, we in the private sector see it as a knee-jerk reaction: not a well-planned strategy to address the burgeoning new industry. Nevertheless, the EO does have its merits, and the task force appears to be ready for action.

A weakness of EO16, in my view, is its over-emphasis on only one sub-sector of the broader I.T. industry. Namely, contact centers. The whole document was premised on the projected rise in business process outsourcing (BPO) opportunities in Davao, and dwelt mainly on call center investments. Not a single mention regarding the strengths of software development, which is at the heart of the I.T. industry. This reveals the government’s low level of awareness of the real deal behind the industry.

However, the establishment of the ICT Task Force speaks well of the present efforts of the Davao LGU: it proves to be a step forward. It’s a sign that they are now beginning to see the digital light. Let’s hope that we will be able to successfully formulate this road map, and that the LGU will adopt it in earnest. The task force, through its technical working group (TWG) — of which I am a part — is supposed to produce the road map, otherwise known as “a city development plan to make Davao City the ICT Hub of Mindanao,” by 3 September 2007.

The ICT Task Force is composed of the City Administrator (chair); City Planning & Development Coordinator (vice-chair); SP Committee on Trade, Commerce & Industry; Department of Trade & Industry-Region 11; Department of Science & Technology-Region 11; National Telecommunications Commission-Region 11; the Davao City Chamber of Commerce & Industry; the Proponent, Councilor Pilar Braga; and the City Legal Officer. During the first organizational meeting last 6 June 2007, the Chairman accepted the proposal to include three more members: ICT Davao Inc.; Philippine Society of I.T. Educators, Davao Chapter; and Technical Education & Skills Development Authority-Region 11. The Task Force will henceforth meet once a month.

The TWG, on the other hand, will meet once a week, running up to its September deadline. It is tasked to create the aforementioned road map. Fortunately, the TWG will benefit from existing road maps that have already been generated by the ICT Industry Cluster of the Regional Development Council-Region 11, and by the Fly High: Philippine Software 2010 program.

An interesting development — albeit not exactly an earth-shaking one — is the plan to include an I.T.-related event during this year’s Kadayawan sa Dabaw festivities. A float perhaps? Or maybe a software design contest? The TWG will brainstorm on this in its first meeting next week.

Recently I’ve received some e-mails from my readers, pointing out the slow-paced development of Davao’s I.T. industry. One even commented that Cagayan de Oro is doing a better job. I have no real basis for comparison right now, so I wouldn’t know for certain. But the truth is, things are really starting to happen for Davao in the I.T. arena.

In October 2007, we will hold the 6th Mindanao ICT Congress, which will coincide with the 1st BIMP-Eaga ICT Conference. There will also be the 1st Mindanao Bloggers Summit on 27 October. Also, an important conference on Free & Open-Source Software is on the drawing board and is slated for September. The COMDDAP Expo is back in Davao this month.

On the business side, a New York-based company, the Sutherland Group, will proceed with its plan to open call center operations here. They are initially targeting a 1,000sqm. area within the NCCC Mall. I hope that software development houses will also start to flourish here.

Now is Davao’s time to make its mark in the sphere of I.T. I sincerely hope that the newly-minted ICT Task Force, hand-in-hand with ICT Davao Inc and the Davao Chamber, will live up to our expectations.