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The Department of Science and Technology is ready to make ICT as enabling tool to help expand and sustain the burgeoning business process outsourcing industry.

“We believe DOST has the mandate and the knowledge resources to raise the number of BPO workforce in a significant way”, DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo said.

Montejo dispelled fears that ICT will take a backseat in government development priorities following the transfer to DOST of the former Commission on Information and Communication Technology and renamed it as ICT office.

He assured leaders of the Business Processing Association Philippines in a meeting July 5 that EO 47 creating the Information and Communications Technology Office or ICTO, will result to “leaner, meaner planning and management” of government ICT resources to enhance e-governance and industry growth.

He cited the ongoing joint development program with the University of the Philippines on a software that can help aspiring BPO workers to polish up on their accents right in the comfort of their homes.
The $15-billion BPO industry directly employs about 600,000 Filipinos. It is still expanding. But lack of qualified people threatens its growth. Only 7 percent of applicants reportedly are accepted. One of the main reasons for the high attrition rate is flawed diction, an earlier DOST report said.

“The English Proficiency Training (EPT) Software can boost the still growing BPO industry with a large pool of aspiring BPO workers”, he added..

Experts in electronics and communications, and English teaching at the University of the Philippines in Diliman are working on the EPT software. It is being designed in such a way that a prospective BPO worker can go through self-training to correct diction or accent until he gets it right.

“We believe that technology intervention will play a big role in the overall strategy to develop globally competitive manpower and help increase the BPO acceptance rate from the current level”, DOST spokesperson Raymund E. Liboro added.

EO 47 essentially harmonizes government ICT policies, programs, and resources that tended to overlap and drag desired development momentum into higher value added services and products, he added.

“We assure the public especially the IT-BPO industry that the new ICTO provides us the path to a leaner and more efficient ICT regime that’s committed to transparent and reliable e-governance system and industry growth”, Liboro explained.


S&T Media Service

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Department of Science and Technology Undersecretary for S&T Services Fortunato T. dela Peña was elected as Chair for the 15th Session of the prestigious UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD) during its 14th Session in Geneva on May 27.

The election of Usec. dela Peña serves as international recognition of the country's initiatives in promoting science and technology, as well as the use of information and communications technology for development.

UNCSTD, a UN agency tasked to promote science and technology for development, is mandated by the Economic and Social Council to oversee the system-wide follow-up, review and assessment of progress in the implementation of outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).

UNCSTD addresses issues pertaining to the problem of digital divide and internet governance, and helps promote technologies that address global challenges.

The Permanent Mission provided full support to ensure Undersecretary Dela Peña's election.

 

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DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo saluted the inauguration of the first online science and technology library in the Philippines in ceremonies held in conjunction with the 24th anniversary of the Science and Technology Information Institute at the DOST Complex, Taguig City.

Called STARBOOKS, or the S&T Academic and Research-Based Openly-Operated Kiosk Stations, this new academic resource for students and researchers shall be equipped with key access portals in strategic areas in the Philippines. Users can have access to the latest data and information contained at DOST (SciNeT), Philippine eLib project sources, freely-available online resources, and subscribed databases.

“[STARBOOKS] shall serve as our humble contribution to the world of education and science. The fact that time and distance have been neutralized as limiting factors for undertaking research is a big benefit especially for our young, intellectually curious minds,” Secretary Montejo noted.
He added, “We at the Department of Science and Technology shall always support initiatives that encourage our people to develop new ideas because of this kind of knowledge explosion, and even inspire one’s capacity for entrepreneurship and research for socio-economic development.”

Since his assumption of the top S&T portfolio in government, Secretary Montejo has aligned the priority thrusts and mandated tasks and responsibilities of the Department of Science and Technology toward providing science- and engineering-based solutions to national problems.

As a result, this outward-oriented approach has won for DOST broad cross-sectoral support for Secretary Montejo’s programs to address issues such as the recent rash of freshwater fishkills in Luzon, the unmitigated spread of water hyacinths in large waterways, flooding, malnutrition, and the availability of potable water for marginal communities throughout the country. (Alan Taule)

DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo during the STARBOOKS launch at the Science and Technology Information Institute (Photo by Louise Ian de los Reyes, STII)

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Countryside development is the most effective and equitable strategy to achieve the Aquino administration’s pursuit of inclusive growth, Science Secretary Mario G. Montejo stressed during a meeting held at the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region 3 Office in San Fernando City, Pampanga.

Speaking before provincial directors and staff, Sec. Montejo highlighted the importance of regional offices in promoting DOST services that can help small- to medium-sized firms to be more competitive, employ more people, and spur more wealth-creating activities in their locales so that provincial folk will no longer move to the big cities looking for jobs.

“Despite our successes, we need to convince more people about S&T and their benefits toward improving their lives. Sa ganitong paraan natin maipaparamdam sa kanila na nasa syensya at teknolohiya ang daan sa pag-unlad,” Secretary Montejo said.

The Secretary also challenged the DOST 3 provincial directors and staff to go the extra mile and exceed their original targets, particularly in technology commercialization and public assistance in their respective areas. He added that people in government service should always strive to be relevant just as how their entrepreneur-clients strive to remain in business.

DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo speaking before the provincial directors and staff of the DOST Region 3 Office. With him are DOST Undersecretary for Regional Operations Carol M. Yorobe (seated) and DOST 3 Officer-in-Charge Julio Caesar Sicat (standing).