THE PHILIPPINE INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE (PII)

PII Policy Study Report Annex

The PII Framework 

Submitted by the

  DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

AND COMMUNICATIONS (DOTC)

October, 1998
All proposals submitted, opinions made and positions stated in this “PII Framework Proposal” are those of the authors and they do not reflect those of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) of the Republic of the Philippines and of the respective institutions that the authors currently represent.

LIST OF ANNEXES

  Annex                    Subject

 A.                                      Philippine Information Infrastructure (PII)

Policy Study Project

Final Report: Summary of Reports,

Analysis and Recommendations

Submitted to CIDA and the DOTC by the

team of Canadian consultants to the PII Project

 

B.                                      Republic Act 7925

(An Act to Promote and Govern the

Development of Philippine Telecommunications

and the Delivery of Public Telecommunications Services) (March 1, 1995) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations

(NTC Memorandum Circular No. 8-9-95)

 

C.                                      Republic Act 6849

(An Act Providing for the Installation,

Operation, and Maintenance of Public Telephones

in each and every Municipality in the Philippines, appropriating funds therefor and for other purposes) (February 8, 1990)

 

D.                                      Executive Order No. 59

(Prescribing the Policy Guidelines for Compulsory Interconnection of Authorized Public Telecommunications Carriers in Order to Create a Universally Accessible and Fully Integrated Nationwide Telecommunications Network and Thereby Encourage Greater Private Sector Investments in Telecommunications) (February 24, 1993)

and its Implementing Rules and Regulations

(NTC Memorandum Circular No. 9-7-93)

 

E.                                      Executive Order No. 109

(Policy to Improve the Provision of Local

Exchange Carrier Service) (July 12. 1998)

and its Implementing Rules and Regulations

(NTC Memorandum Circular No. 11-9-93)

F.                                       Executive Order No. 190

(Approving and Adopting the National Information Technology Plan 2000 and Establishing the National Information Technology Council <NITC>) (July 19, 1994)

 

G.                                     Executive Order No. 436

(Policy Guidelines to Govern the Operations of

Cable Television in the Philippines) (September 9, 1997)

 

H.                                      Executive Order 468

(Providing for the Creation of a National Council for

the Promotion of Electronic Commerce in the Country) (February 23, 1998)

 

I.                                           Executive Order No. 469

(Amending Executive Order No. 190 dated 19 July 1994 Approving and Adopting the NITP 2000 and Establishing

the National Information Technology Council<NITC>) (February 23, 1998)

 

K.                                      Executive Order No. 35

(Directing the National Computer Center <NCC> to Design and Build an Integrated Government Information Infrastructure <GII>) (October 26, 1998)

 

J.                                       Administrative Order 232 (RPWEB)

(Directing all Government Agencies and

Instrumentalities including Local Government Units

to undertake Electronic Interconnection through the

Internet to be known as the RPWEB) (November 7, 1997)

 

All proposals submitted, opinions made and positions stated in this “PII Framework Proposal” are those of the authors and they do not reflect those of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) of the Republic of the Philippines and of the respective institutions that the authors currently represent.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

                The emerging global information society seeks to achieve the shared vision of human enrichment and people empowerment. Today, progress in communications and information technologies is changing the way people live, study, work, do business and interact with each other. Ultimately, this new knowledge-based society will define its citizens.

The new global information society is launching the world into a revolution that, in turn, will bring humanity into the Age of Information. Hand in hand with this change is the creation of a new economic order.

                 The common view is that this emerging economic order will serve the critical needs of people all over the world regardless of race, social and economic standing and geographic location. It will promote equal opportunity for its citizens. It will deter the emergence of two classes of people: those who have access to the benefits of communications and information and those who do not have access.

The Critical Need for an Information Infrastructure

The new knowledge-based economy demands the development, deployment and operation of an information infrastructure that will have the broadest coverage possible. The ultimate objective is to establish a global information infrastructure that will develop from the internetworking of regional and national information infrastructures. Every region and nation in the world, therefore, must develop, deploy and operate their respective information infrastructure.

An information infrastructure has at its core the interactive high-speed, broadband multimedia, multi-services communications and information networks. Such a "network of networks" is seamlessly provided over interconnected and interoperable communications facilities. Extending out from these backbone networks are the access facilities that reach out to the users wherever they may be to ensure the widest coverage at costs affordable to all.

The global information infrastructure will guarantee the ubiquity of advanced communications applications and services as well as universal access to information.  

In this context, universal access and, eventually, universal service are vital elements in the establishment of a global information society that can truly serve humanity. They are the ultimate goals of the global information infrastructure and of its integral components: the regional and national information infrastructures.  

A National Information Infrastructure for the Philippines  

Today, many countries are in the process of evolving their own information infrastructure. Most of them have already started to reform their respective legal, regulatory and policy regimes in order to create an environment that will allow the favorable and sustainable development of their national information infrastructure.  

Nations who are successful in creating such an environment can evolve to a knowledge-based economy faster. A well-developed national information infrastructure gives a country the competitive edge and provides its citizens with a higher quality of life.  

The Philippines as a nation is not an exception. To be globally competitive and to be able to bring the benefits of the Information Age to its people, it must keep up with worldwide developments and manage the fast evolving changes as they take place. The country must develop its own information infrastructure - the Philippine Information Infrastructure (PII).  

This is not to say that the Philippines still does not have even just the foundations of a national information infrastructure. In fact, there are already significant portions of the PII that are now either already operational or are in the process of planning and implementation. While there is no doubt that the PII is just at its very early stages of development, it is already work in progress. The task of building the PII is, however, a major undertaking that will take many years and require huge amounts of capital investment to complete. In order to ensure the sustained development of the PII, the full support of the citizenry and the unwavering commitment of the national leadership are required.

 

The PII and What it Means to Filipinos

          The PII promises great economic, social and cultural benefits to the citizens and residents of the Philippines. The PII itself will provide tremendous opportunities for Filipinos. Among other things, the planning, implementation and operation of PII facilities and related projects will lead to the creation of more jobs.

 

A developed national information infrastructure will also help alleviate the poverty of people and spread growth more equitably. As envisaged, the PII will play a major role in the provision of basic people-oriented services such as distance education, life long learning, tele-medicine and health care.

 

In general, the government will need the PII to improve its ability to deliver vital public services to the people. The PII will help empower the citizens and will help them improve their work productivity leading to the improvement of their standards of living. It will definitely be a positive factor in strengthening and enriching the social and cultural fabric of the Filipino people. All said, the PII would be the key ingredient in the national effort to accelerate the entry of Filipinos to the Information Age.

 

                A national information infrastructure like the PII will alter the way a nation’s citizens and residents live, learn, work and communicate with each other both within the country and around the world. It will ensure the country’s ability to respond to the emerging societal changes. The country cannot afford to miss this rare opportunity to join the bandwagon of economic progress. The benefits are simply too immense

to be ignored. In fact, it will be a real tragedy if this opportunity is allowed to pass.

 

The PII in the Context of a Global Vision

  The Philippines must share the vision of many other nations in the world by developing and deploying its own national information infrastructure. This vision is to enable all the citizens and residents of a nation to have equal access to other people and to information that are relevant to them regardless of where they are located and at costs they can afford. Evidently, this vision has been developed to benefit the citizens of nations. For the Philippines, it is the Filipino people who will benefit from a national information infrastructure.

  This global vision has provided the impetus for the Philippines to get started on the long and arduous drive towards the goal of accelerating the development of the PII. It is also this vision that has given impetus to the PII Policy Study Project and has led to the conceptualization of the project.

 

The PII Policy Study Project

 

The PII policy study project is the first major step towards the development of a national information infrastructure for the Philippines. As the first major PII initiative, it must be recognized that it came primarily from the visionary mind and the pioneering efforts of the Undersecretary of Communications, the Honorable Josefina T. Lichauco. She is the first Filipino to “champion” the need for a national information infrastructure for the Philippines.

  The project began as an earnest effort of the Philippine Government to lay down the foundation of the PII. The President of the Philippines created the National Information Technology Council (NITC) in 1994 and one of its mandates is to accelerate the development of the PII.

To accomplish this objective, the NITC adopted a six-component strategic thrust “T-I-G-E-R-S” and formulated its NITP2000 development plan. The NITP, in turn, tasked the DOTC with the responsibility for the “T” (Telecommunications) component, focusing on the development of the Philippine Information Infrastructure (PII).

  Given this responsibility, the DOTC determined the need for a policy study for the PII. It developed a project with the support of the Canadian Government through its Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to undertake this study. In 1996, CIDA funded a definitional mission that conceptualized the project and prepared its terms of reference.

 

The DOTC and CIDA jointly funded the implementation of the PII Policy Study Project. Two sets of consultants for the project were involved: one team was composed of experts from Canada retained for the project by CIDA and another team was composed of Filipino consultants retained by the DOTC.

 

The PII project was intended to identify and address issues and concerns affecting the development of the PII. A consultative process was developed for the project to ensure the significant involvement of people in government, private sector and civil society who will make decisions for PII programs and projects. The project was also designed in order to clearly present and effectively explain what it takes to develop a national information infrastructure.

  It took a year to complete work on the PII policy study, spanning the administrations of three Secretaries of Transportation and Communications. The project was launched on October 16, 1997 when the DOTC was under the leadership of the late retired General Arturo T. Enrile. The first PII National Conference was held on May 8, 1998 during the interim period when Undersecretary J. T. Lichauco assumed the position of Secretary of Transportation and Communications. The project was completed during the administration of the present head of the DOTC, the Honorable Vicente C. Rivera, Jr.

               The PII Policy Study Project used traditional research and survey methods as well as new study techniques. The use of the Internet, for example, enabled the project’s study teams to keep abreast of the current worldwide developments. It also allowed the team members to establish direct connections with people who were involved in similar undertakings for their respective countries.

  The Canadian model was a valuable reference for most parts of the study but it was definitely not the only country reference used. The US model as well as those of other countries particularly those in the ASEAN region were also considered as potential sources of new ideas and concepts.

  Consensus was developed even at the early stages of the project’s study process that the development of a national information infrastructure in the Philippines may have both similarities and differences when compared with the development in other countries. It was also realized that the models presented by the developed countries that are now leading the way towards the Information Age do not necessarily apply to developing countries like the Philippines. They, however, provide important experiences and present valuable lessons to be considered for the PII development process.

  Extensive consultations with those identified as major “stakeholders” of PII were held at various stages of the policy study project's work program. Throughout the duration of the study period, the project generated a large amount of materials related to the development of the information infrastructure gathered from all over the world. All these have given the members of the teams involved in the project new insights and a broader perspective on the subject.

 

The Final PII Study Outputs

  The final PII policy study outputs were distilled from intensive studies and researches conducted by the project’s study teams. They also represent the results of the consultations made with as many of the identified interested parties in the PII as possible. More than three

hundred representatives from both the government and the private sector participated in the project. More than fifty of these participants acted as key resource persons to the project. Participants from the private sector, Filipinos and foreigners alike, represented a cross-section of the industry.

  The final study outputs of the PII project are presented in two forms: a Final Study Report authored by the Canadian experts retained by CIDA for the project and the PII Framework Proposal authored by the Filipino team of consultants to the project.

  The submission of a Final Study Report is in compliance with the PII project’s terms of reference. The Filipino consultants, on the other hand, considered what they perceived were important expectations of many of the PII stakeholders from the project and consequently developed an additional output. This was in the form of a document entitled: “The PII Framework Proposal: A Legal, Regulatory and Policy Framework to Accelerate and Rationalize the Development of the PII". Upon its review and adoption, it is proposed that the document be referred to as “The PII Framework for Development.”

  The Final Study Report is an integration of the module reports authored by the Canadian experts based on studies, researches and surveys jointly undertaken by the Filipino and Canadian project teams. The focus of this report is the identification and analysis of issues and needs as determined from the study process and the technical, institutional and public policy factors that have been determined as critical to the development of the PII.

  The PII Framework Proposal, on the other hand, is a complementary report to the Final Study Report. It is not intended to be a separate and distinct output from the Final Study Report. The work on this Framework Proposal was in fact closely and carefully coordinated with that on the Final Study Report. It was developed from the same study processes and methods adopted and implemented for the PII

                Policy Study Project and which were used in the preparation of the Final Study Report.

  The project’s final study outputs both highlight the major findings, conclusions and recommendations that surfaced from the studies, researches, surveys, observations, consultations and other study processes and methods adopted and implemented for the PII policy study project.

 

PII Stakeholders' Expectations from the Project

 

              The project was undertaken on the basic assumption, eventually proven correct, that the PII has a broad base of interested parties from both the government and the private sector as well as from non-government organizations and the civic society, in general. They are those who are referred to in this framework proposal as the “PII stakeholders”.

 

Evident from the results of the consultative process adopted for the project was that the participants who come from this broad base of interested parties - the identified PII stakeholders – were expecting that the results of the project will be presented in terms of practical, actionable and workable proposals. The stakeholders, in turn, will have to act upon these proposals before they can become concrete action plans and programs, strategic initiatives and specific projects, policy and investment decisions and legal reform measures.

 

Some of the stakeholders echoed their concern that the study teams would merely present an essay about the PII and their perspective of where the Philippines is now and how it should move forward to develop its national information infrastructure. Such a manner of presentation can be valid and relevant and may provide significant contributions to the development effort for the PII particularly the conclusions and recommendations they may embody. It was, however, clear that the stakeholders were expecting more.

Many of the stakeholders were clearly anticipating that the project would address specific concerns and issues from a more pragmatic plane. Many sought definitive and realizable proposals rather than just broad conclusions and recommendations.

 

Generally, they expected the final study output to contain definitive action-oriented and issue-specific action plans and high-impact strategic initiatives that will demonstrate the benefits of the PII. They were also advocating appropriate constitutional, legislative, policy and regulatory reform measures to facilitate the acceleration of the PII development process. This prompted the Filipino team to respond and the result of their work is the PII Framework Proposal that they have so carefully crafted.

 

The PII Framework Proposal

 

The Filipino consultants developed the Framework Proposal for the PII as a platform from where they were able to present and defend their thesis for each of the integral parts of the proposed PII framework. Every plan and proposition in the PII Framework Proposal was formulated based on underlying concepts, philosophies and positions taken on specific problems, needs and issues.

 

The Filipino consultants also anticipated the need to match the proposed PII framework against the government’s national policy framework and long-term national development plan along with other constraints and limitations.

 

After a thorough review, revision and evaluation by the government and private sector decision-makers and planners and other PII stakeholders, this proposal can be adopted as the “PII Framework for Development.” With an official stamp of approval from government, it will become a very important guide to the implementation of an accelerated and rationalized development process for the PII.

 

The basic outline of the proposed PII Framework for Development is presented at the end of this chapter as Exhibit 1.

The Values of the Project's Final Study Outputs

to the PII Development Process

 

The PII Final Study Report and the PII Framework Proposal taken together represent an important step towards the realization of the dream of many Filipinos to achieve progress and to experience the benefits that are promised by the global information society. It is expected that the project’s final study outputs will reach a significant segment of the PII stakeholders and will be able to provide them with a clearer and a more focused vision of the PII. Accurate and relevant information about the PII should lead to a better understanding of the role that a national information infrastructure like the PII can play in the nation-building process.

 

The final study outputs also identified what should be done and who should be responsible for certain tasks in order that the sustained development of the PII can be ensured. They defined the options open to the Philippines for it to become an active participant in the universal effort to bring about the new and emerging global information society.

 

One of the achievements of the project that can be cited even at this stage was that the PII consultative process served as an effective platform for the launching of a virtual advocacy movement for the PII. This movement was able to acquire a much broader based acceptance and support for the PII. This movement is also aimed at ensuring a clear and correct understanding of what the PII is. This effort must address the Filipino people starting from the leaders of government, the private sector and the civil society.

 

Sustaining the Momentum for the PII

 

It is evident that after the PII Policy Study Project is completed, there must be continuity rather than an impasse. The progress that has been attained for the PII so far must be continued and sustained. It is critical that the DOTC continues to take the lead role in the PII development process.

To provide further focus and impetus, the PII Framework Proposal is recommending the creation of a separate body to support both the DOTC and the NITC in their respective responsibilities and tasks related to the development of the PII.

 

Some of the stakeholders consulted, on the other hand, are proposing that after the PII policy study has been completed, a strategic national development plan for the PII must be initiated. It should adequately cover and reconcile the many diverse, sometimes duplicitous or conflicting, efforts of the various private sector enterprises that are involved in the development, deployment and operation of the PII. It should also consider all the different development plans that are already operational and those that are in the process of either planning or implementation.

 

A master plan can then be developed to integrate all the different plans of the different groups involved in the PII development process. This strategic plan, as proposed by its proponents and espoused in this PII Framework Proposal, should cover all possible areas of concern and address the identified issues and needs in more comprehensive terms than how they were treated in this policy study.

 

Among other things, the master plan should be able to answer such questions as how much will be the total cost of building even just the physical infrastructure component of the PII.

 

There are certainly many other areas of concern that require more adequate coverage than how they were handled in the PII policy study. It can also be safely predicted that more issues, needs and concerns will surface as changes in lifestyles, technological advancements and other radical transformations continue to take place in the world.

 

There is no doubt that the PII development is dynamic. The continuing studies developed to support it should be equally dynamic. There is also no doubt that the PII should be developed in a timely, orderly and well coordinated manner so that the nation will be able to adequately meet the challenges of the times.

Having taken the first step, the crucial part now comes with the need to maintain the momentum of PII development.

 

Potential Threats to PII Development

 

The Philippines is now a country that is fully conscious of the need to join the march to the Information Age. It is, however, possible for a developing country like ours to fail to act on time as it becomes so engrossed with its many other more pressing social, political and economic problems. This threat is now even more pronounced as the country starts to face more serious problems due to the economic crisis that is now slowly but so persistently engulfing its region and the world.

 

One very serious concern is how the long-term development of the PII can be financed in the face of the serious economic problems that the country is now facing along with economic turbulence that the region and many other parts of the world is now going through.

 

The information society and the knowledge-based milieu that is now emerging are new, complex and abstract concepts that are not yet completely clear and acceptable to most citizens of the world. Even the leaders of some nations may fail to recognize the value of this evolution for their people. There is, therefore, an urgent need for Filipinos, particularly its leaders and decision-makers to understand these new concepts, appreciate their short, medium and long-term benefits and to promote public awareness, understanding and acceptance for them.

 

The End of the Project Marks the Beginning

of a new PII Development Process

 

The PII Policy Study Project is a serious and deliberate attempt to respond fully and adequately to what its project teams have determined as the most pressing problems, needs and concerns related to the PII. The project also made a real and concerted effort to define the parameters for setting up an environment that will be able to not only initiate but also sustain and even hasten the development of the PII.

As the project ends, a new process for the accelerated and rational development of the PII has been clearly identified, defined and given a real substantive form. While a development process has already started for the PII even before the project was initiated, it must now begin to move forward on a new track and at a much faster speed.

 

The PII Policy Study Project is an initial but major effort whose end marks the beginning of what is expected to be a new, longer and more difficult but on-track course for the PII.  

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

 

 

The Filipino consultants to the PII Policy Study Project wish to extend their gratitude to all the PII stakeholders who have participated in the consultations and provided valuable inputs to the project. The participants to the policy study collectively provided the highly significant inputs that provided substance to the study. They also provided the valuable support that ensured the successful and timely completion of the project.

 

The Filipino consultants also express both their individual and collective gratitude and appreciation for the knowledge they have gained working with their counterparts from Canada: Katherine Peart, Daniel Sum, Victor Banning, Alan Aitkens, John Gilbert and William Jackson. Les Breiner and Veronica Guzman of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) gave excellent support to the Filipino consultants whether they were here in the Philippines or in Canada.

 

Above all, they acknowledge the outstanding guidance and support provided to them by the DOTC and its project management team for the PII Policy Study Project. The Department's involvement in the project was led and directed by the Undersecretary of Communications, the Honorable Josefina T. Lichuaco. The Director for Management Information Services (MIS) of DOTC, Ms. Emma E. Hizon, headed the project management team as the project manager. The chief of DOTC's Telecommunications Policy and Planning Division, Engr. Aurora R. Adecer-Rubio, assisted Ms. Hizon in the management of the project. The other staff members of the DOTC who supported and assisted the team in one way or another should also be cited. These officials and staff of the DOTC were all instrumental in their own respective ways of ensuring the successful completion of the policy study project.

 

Senior officials and executives also provided valuable support to the PII teams of consultants from various government departments, offices and agencies. They included senior officials from the Office of the President, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the

Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the National Computer Center (NCC), the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), and other government departments and agencies. Top-level officials and senior executives from the various private sector organizations, institutions, associations and corporations also participated actively in the broad consultations that punctuated the one-year project.

 

The participation, on a collective basis, of top-level officials and senior executives from both government and the private sector has been outstanding. This assessment is based not only on the number of participants but more importantly on the very keen interest they have shown, the very enthusiastic involvement they have demonstrated and in the very meaningful inputs that they made to the project.

 

The list of those who have made substantive contributions to the PII project is long. It was not possible to list all their names in this study output. What is perhaps more important is to state that most of their contributions have found their way, in one way or another, into the proposals being submitted as part of this study output.

 

The Filipino consultants individually and collectively exerted their best efforts working in coordination with their Canadian counterparts and in close consultation with the DOTC senior officials and members of the project team. They spent long hours at work with a singular objective in mind - to contribute to the development of the PII, as they are truly convinced that the PII is an indispensable resource for the Filipino nation and its people.

 

As Filipinos themselves, the PII to them was not just the subject matter of a contracted project but a cause that they themselves strongly support and advocate. It was, in the words of one of the consultants, “something you simply fall in love with”.

 

Comments on any of the materials presented in this report entitled the "PII Framework Proposal" will be most appreciated by the Filipino consultants even after the project's work program has already ended.

With the project already officially completed, these comments should now be directly addressed to the DOTC.

 

The Filipino consultants, however, still look forward to opportunities in the future where their proposals as embodied in the PII Framework Proposal herein submitted to the DOTC could be discussed and expounded further.

 

These proposals, as well as the accompanying vision, definition, principles and other specific positions they have taken in developing their overall framework proposal may be considered as important steps. They are, at best, only the first significant steps taken towards a rational and accelerated development of the PII. Many more steps will have to be taken for the PII.