Statement of Philippines
by Mr. Virgilio L. Pena

Excellencies
The Honorable Secretary General
Officials of ITU
Distinguished delegates
Ladies and gentlemen

The Philippines joins the entire ITU in expressing our gratitude to the President of Morocco, his Majesty the King Muhammed VI, for the gracious and magnificent hospitality that the Kingdom of Morocco has extended to all participants of this conference.

Morocco, with its rich and colorful tapestry of culture and art, and the historical significance it exudes, provides a perfect backdrop to a defining moment in ITU's own esteemed history. It does seems appropriate that Morocco with its own chronicles replete with accounts of valor and wisdom would be the setting for the very first ITU Plenipotentiary Conference of the New Millennium.

Here at historic Morocco we, the plenipotentiaries from all regions of the world converge with the common intention to take a historic decision on the direction and responsibility that the Union with its 189 States Members and more than 650 sector members must embark on in determining ITUs future, and that of the lives it shapes through telecommunications and the ICT sector.

ITU in the New Millennium confronts great many challenges. As the oldest and pre-eminent intergovernmental UN organization for telecommunication, ITU should prove its capacity to meet the goals established by its membership, especially in the midst of world wide financial crisis and a declining investor confidence. It must not rely alone on its core technical competence but must find strength in its policy domain upon which its membership can collaborate for global solutions to enable the continued growth, development and application of technology; establish a competitive market; and build the information-oriented society to bridge the digital divide and achieve the broader social and economic goals in the eradication of poverty that hounds the world's citizens.

Strengthening ICT: The Asean Perspective

Last month, the Philippines was privileged to host three significant events that establishes the directions the ASEAN Region would take in strengthening the Information Communications Technology (ICT) in our part of the world.

A significant milestone achieved by this meeting was the forging of MANILA DECLARATION 2002 by the ASEAN MINISTERS borne out of the region's common aspirations and economic agenda of an ASEAN's commitment to fully exploit the region's competitive edge in ICT. The Declaration is ASEAN's blueprint to realize our vision of ASEAN 2020 for a vibrant and open ASEAN society consistent with our respective identities and a people enjoying equitable access to opportunities and improved social and sustainable economic development in the region.

ASEAN will focus its energies and resources by improving interconnectivity of networks, improving the adoption and use of ICT products and services through universally accessible ICT networks and competitive and affordable ICT products and services. Along side, it will develop multi-lingual and multi-cultural content to make information more accessible to its peoples and strengthen our security efforts to curb cyber crimes through the Internet.

ICT in the Philippines

The ASEAN ICT state of affairs is intrinsically reflective of the Philippine ICT scenario, where issues on overcoming the digital divide, universal access and the lack of ICT infrastructure and local content in the internet and affordability of IT services affect the viability of ICT as a compelling economic mechanism of advancement in the Philippines.

For telecommunications in the Philippines, mobile communications density still has the highest numbers with 12,159,163 million subscribers. We are one of the 97 countries of the world with more mobile than fixed phones. Mobile service has raised access to communication to new heights, propelling local commerce and trade with renewed vigor. This, however, was not always the case.

Two decades ago the Philippine telecommunications industry was a virtual monopoly. With the lack of competition and limited capital, the industry hardly grew. In 1993, with the introduction of the interconnection policy and the universal telephone service policy, the development of the domestic telecommunications industry was finally underway. The privatization and liberalization of the Philippine telecommunications industry was sealed with the passage in 1995 of Republic Act 7925 or what is known as the Philippines Telecommunication Act.

What happened next was as we say is history. Investments in telecommunication reached in 1997 alone to P307 billion and telephone density increased from less than one to almost 10 per 100 population. The local telecommunications monopoly was torn apart with the entry of major players who established strategic partnerships with foreign allies, creating and expanding the needed telecommunication infrastructure to address the growing demands of the public. Despite the downward growth in the industry, telecommunications build up remains to this day a priority of the Philippine government, as it remains as the Philippines' principal income earner.

For this reason, Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared that ICT should be the leading sector for economic growth and key to finding the country's proper niche in the global information economy in the 21st Century. This recognition of the powerful strength and vast potential of ICT as a weapon to eradicate hunger and poverty is what government and the private sector are using in their respective agenda of action.

President Arroyo is currently Chair to the joint private-public Sector Information Technology and E-Commerce Council (ITECC), the Philippines' highest policy advisory body on ICT and electronic commerce activity of which I am Executive Director. There is also a current move to restructure government and create a Department of Information and Communications Technology. All these, reflect and concretize the President's commitment to the strengthening of ICT in the Philippines.

It is worth noting, too, that for the first time, the Philippines Updated Medium Term Development Plan drawn by our National Economic and Development Authority has included a distinct chapter on ICT for socioeconomic development, acknowledging the role of ICT in bridging the economic and social divide. It calls for government agencies, NGO's and community based organization to acquire basic resources to access on-line information and services. The Plan also outlines the President's legislative agenda to promote ICT which includes the creation of a separate Department of Information and Communications Technology; the passage of a Convergence Law; legislating for a stronger protection against telecommunications, and other cyber-related crimes, including acquisition of domain name over the Internet.

The Philippines is, indeed, a rich and valuable repository of experiences in telecommunications and specifically in the field of regulations —a position that bespeaks of our expertise in the gains and pitfalls of the industry to which developed and developing members can learn from.

The Philippines in ITU

The Philippines is and will always be a great advocate of the cause of the ITU membership, especially that of the developing and least developed countries. It is a sacrosanct commitment of the Philippines to the Union.

The Philippines has been a member of ITU's governing Council for the last four terms or 16 years. We capped our tenure as Council member by serving as Chairman of the Credentials Committee at the last Plenipotentiary Conference; President of Council 2000, member of Council's Troika and in the most challenging task as Chairman of the Working Group of Council to draw the Draft ITU Strategic Plan 2003-2007 which for the first time, the draft emanates from contributions, representations and varied interests of the ITU membership seeking change and instituting reforms.

The Strategic Plan shall be the Union's enabler; a strategy unto itself towards a new direction of change remaining as the world's pre-eminent intergovernmental organization on telecommunications and to fill its expanded role as the sentinel of telecommunication and information in a global information society.

Today, at the first Plenipotentiary Conference of the New Century, the Philippines bows out from its membership in the governing Council in the Union as our government has decided not to seek for re-election in the ITU Council for the 2003-2006 cycle. This decision is borne out of our judgment that now is the time to relinquish our post from the Council and give way to others who are equally deserving and proficient to the task at hand.

However, we wish to assure you that the Philippine government and our private sector will continue to actively participate and collaborate with the world in ITU in all disciplines of telecommunication and information so that our global citizen can benefit from ICT in the new Information Society. This is our solemn pledge as the Philippines continue to fulfill its vision of being one with the ITU in its quest to close the digital divide.

Harnessing the power of ICT for the next generation

The United Nations in its Millennium Declaration resolved to "ensure that the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications technologies… are available to all."

This recognition of the powerful strength and vast potential of ICT as a weapon to eradicate hunger and poverty is what government and the private sector are using in their respective agenda of action.

The Philippines looks forward to the World Summit on Information Society as it focuses on the crucial function of access to ICT, converting the digital divide into a digital opportunity and the need to harness its vast powers of influence as an engine of prosperity and progress.

While the policy frameworks on ICT are being debated and re-engineered for appropriateness and maximum efficacy, the development of ICT, on the other hand is escalating at neck breaking speed, hardly stopping for anyone or anything.

It is up to us to race along with it, learn all it can about the technologies ICT has given birth to, and harness this new information to advance the progress of man. This is ITU's greatest challenge.

As ICT evolves into a more sophisticated network of technologies, convergence of technologies would have given way to a whole new lifestyle, a new sub-culture, new laws, perhaps even new traditions. It does not take too much imagination to see the world in "technological" glasses. The truth is, right at this moment, the changes are already astounding, and as we debate in the next 4 weeks on ICT issues and concerns, we cannot afford to hesitate and lose momentum to give strategic directions to ITU. The future of this generation and that to follow should not be compromised.

Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for this opportunity to address the Union. The Philippine delegation shares with all the other Union members the optimism and confidence that the ITU will continue to keep in stride with the telecommunications industry in bringing about better lives for our peoples.

Thank you.